Realities Apart
by SGAngeL
Summary: Jack O'Neill comes through the mirror, asking the SGC for help. Will he be able to save his world in time? Or will he have to take some desperate measures? JS WARNING: Reviews may contain spoilers COMPLETE!
1. Default Chapter

Title: Realities Apart Author: SGAngeL

Season: Mid Season 8. Takes place before Reckoning

Spoilers: There for but the Grace of God, Point of View, Meridian, Fallen/Homecoming, Heroes, New Order, basically anything up to and including Season 8. I will list ep spoilers in future chapters when they appear.

Summary: Jack O'Neill comes through the quantum mirror asking for help, will SG-1 be able to help him?

Pairing: Jack/Sam

Disclaimer: Stargate and its characters are not mine, and this is written purely for fun and enjoyment. There is absolutely no copyright infringement intended.

Warning: There are a couple of badish words, but It's not anything that anybody doesn't hear everyday.

Author's Notes: this started off as just a little story to write while I wrote another big one, but then the story line grew into a huge complex story! A lot of which was too confusing, even for me. So, I'm thinking this will turn out to be a bit lengthy, but I guess we'll just see where it goes.

Any comments are more than welcome, please do let me know what you think! Enjoy!

* * *

"Realities Apart" 

Chapter 1-

Brigadier General Jack O'Neill rocked back and forth on his feet as he waited for the elevator to slowly ascend the mountain. It jolted to a halt at level 25, and the door slid open to reveal Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter. She stepped onto the elevator next to him.

"Carter," Jack acknowledged her with a nod and a small smile.

"Sir," Sam smiled back. "So what's the problem?" She'd heard there was a problem on Level 16, and had decided to check it out.

"Security breach on Level 16… Storage Room 6, I believe."

Sam frowned. "Storage Room 6? That's where the quantum mirror is kept." That was the first thing that she could think of which could cause alarm for a security breach. The mirror itself had been ordered destroyed several years ago. The President had overruled General Hammond, though, and ordered the mirror stay within the SGC. He gave no reason for his decision, so nobody questioned him on the matter.

There was nothing else in the storage room other than equipment, and a few useless artifacts they'd picked up along the way.

Jack groaned. "The mirror? Oh joy!" He replied sarcastically.

The elevator stopped on the designated level, and they both made their way to the storage room. Sam was contemplating on what they would find when they got there, while Jack was hoping they wouldn't run into an alternate version of themselves. That always got confusing.

They walked into the room, and found several SF's surrounding a very familiar figure.

"Oh no," Jack mumbled. "Now that definitely doesn't get old."

Standing before them was none other than Jack O'Neill himself. He was an exact replica down to the silver gray shade of his hair. His face shared the same pained expression of the General standing before him. It was general knowledge that Jack O'Neill didn't like having a double around.

"Sergeant! Please explain." Jack turned to the Sergeant standing by him.

"Yes Sir, the alarms were tripped about 20 minutes ago. At first we thought it was you, but then we played back the security tapes, and found that he came through the mirror, General." Walter explained.

There was a snort from the other side of the room, and they all turned to look at the intruder.

"'General'? How on Earth did _that_ happen?"

Jack looked back at his double with a smirk. "What can I say? People like me."

"So… What's the problem, Jack?" Daniel asked as he walked into the room with Teal'c by his side. He was looking expectantly at the alternate, directing the question at him. He hadn't yet realized that there were in fact two Jacks in the room.

AU Jack's eyes grew wide, "Daniel, you're alive."

"Last time I checked." Daniel frowned at who he thought was his friend.

"Apparently, this _other_ me came through that mirror thingy." The real Jack said.

Daniel and Teal'c swung around to face him, shock registering on their faces, which for Teal'c was his usual eyebrow raise. Daniel looked back and forth between the two. "Well that's… weird."

"You're telling me." Jack mumbled.

"Sorry, but why are you here?" Sam asked, speaking for the first time since she'd entered the room, and bringing the conversation back to the problem at hand.

AU Jack turned to look at her, as if noticing her for the first time. His eyes lingered on Sam without replying.

"Won't he get that tropical casket thing, like Dr. Carter had?" Jack asked, looking to Sam.

"Entropical Cascade Failure." Sam instantly corrected him without thought.

"Hopefully I wont be here that long." The stranger said, finally tearing his eyes away from Sam. "I need your help."

* * *

General O'Neill and the three members of SG-1 escorted their new guest to the Briefing Room. There were many curious and shocked personnel that they passed on their way. No doubt the rumour mill was at large, and the newest theory was probably that General O'Neill had found his long lost identical twin brother. 

The General sat at the head of the table, Sam sitting by his right side, and the AU Jack on his left. Daniel took his usual seat on Sam's other side, and Teal'c sat across from him.

"So," Jack began. "How exactly do you need our help?" They all turned to look at the not-so-unfamiliar stranger expectantly.

He took a deep breath before beginning. "In my reality, Ba'al attacked Earth. There was nothing we could do. He dialed in to our 'gate before we even knew what was happening. Prometheus was destroyed while trying to defend against the attack, and the Deadalus is nowhere near complete. The F 302's barely stood a chance. Ba'al's fleet wiped them out within minutes. The mirror was our last chance to get help."

"And how exactly are we going to help you?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Jonas found some text on a planet, and it had a 'gate address to a planet where the Ancients had an outpost. He thought that we might be able to find one of those ZPMs there, and use it on the chair in Antarctica."

"So you want to go to that planet in our reality." Sam said. She'd been listening closely to his story, and she was a little worried about the chances of Ba'al attacking in this reality. There was a good possibility of it, as their realities were obviously very similar.

"Yes," AU Jack answered. "But you can have it back once we've used it, or you can even have the other one in our reality. Heck, I'm sure the President would even agree to letting you have both of them!" He looked around the table at each of their faces, before resting on the General's. "Please, let me save what's left of my world."

The room went silent as four pairs of eyes landed at the head of the table.

"I'll have to talk to the President about this one." Jack answered, and he stood from the table. "Until then, Daniel, take our guest to the Infirmary to get checked out, would you?"

"Thank you." AU Jack looked earnestly at him.

"You're welcome, and dare I say, he hasn't said 'yes' yet." Jack looked to Sam. "Carter." He nodded for her to follow him, and he led her into his office. He shut the door behind them, and turned around to face her.

"So what do you think?"

"Well, I don't see why we shouldn't help. I'm sure you'd want the same from him if the situation were reversed. Not to mention we could get a ZPM out of this. Then we'd be able to contact the Atlantis." Sam answered. She looked through the glass star map to the Briefing Room as AU Jack left with Daniel, Teal'c exiting after them.

"What about Ba'al attacking, I mean if it's happening in his reality, it could happen here too, right? Kind of like Apophis, and when Daniel first found the mirror."

Sam nodded, and looked back at her CO. "That's what I'm worried about, Sir. It would be on the safe side if we had a ZPM to protect us."

"Yeah, I'll see what the President has to say." He walked around his desk, and plopped down into his chair. "So, I will see you at lunch?" Jack asked, raising his eyebrows, questioningly.

"Yes, Sir."

"Oh, and Carter? Do you think he was jealous about the whole General thing?"

Sam looked at his innocent gaze, and cracked a smile. "I'll see you later, Sir."

* * *

"You said Jonas figured out the address?" Daniel asked the AU Jack as they stood together in the elevator. 

"Yeah, that's what I said."

"Well, uh, where exactly am I then?"

Jack turned to look carefully at the young man standing beside him. "You died… almost three years ago now." He held Daniel's gaze for a moment before turning back to face the doors as they slid open.

"Oh…" Was all Daniel could say. He suddenly remembered AU Jack's earlier comment in the storage room.

They stepped into the hallway, and continued towards the Infirmary.

"Yeah, radiation. Kinda… painful. He ascended to a higher plain of existence… or something or other." Jack explained.

"He didn't descend again?"

Jack stopped in the middle of the hallway, and turned to face Daniel. "What?"

"Well, I died too, but over a year ago now I descended again; once again taking human form."

"No… that didn't happen." Jack continued down the hallway.

Daniel stared after him for a moment, in deep thought. "So that would be a reason why Ba'al's attacked you, and he hasn't here." He speculated.

AU Jack swung around on his heel, leveling Daniel with a glare. "Are you saying that if the Daniel in my reality had decided to descend, then we wouldn't be having this problem? That Ba'al wouldn't have killed everyone I know! And he wouldn't be enslaving Earth!"

"No!" Daniel defended himself. "I'm saying that that's probably one of a thousand differences between our realities that could account for this."

"So it's my Daniel's fault that all this is happening!" Jack's voice had risen to a yell, and several SGC employees were scurrying in the opposite direction.

Daniel gave an irritated groan. "Don't be an ass, you know what I'm trying to say." He was one of the few people who would actually stand up to an irate Jack O'Neill, no matter what reality he was from.

Jack turned around, and headed down the hall to the Infirmary once again. After a moment, Daniel rolled his eyes, and followed. Thankfully General O'Neill had called ahead to the Infirmary to avoid further confusion.

Even though she knew he'd been coming, Dr. Brightman stared at AU Jack. It was her first time seeing a duplicate, and she was amazed by how similar they were; he was an exact copy, even the tiny scar on his left eyebrow.

"Jack, this is Dr. Brightman." Daniel introduced the two. "But I guess you've probably already met her in your reality."

AU Jack turned back to Daniel, his face still a little red from his obvious anger at the young archaeologist. "Where's Dr. Fraiser?" He snapped.

Daniel noticed Dr. Brightman flinch slightly at the Colonel's harsh tone. He knew that the doctor still felt that she lived under Janet's shadow, and in a way she did. Everyone knew she had large shoes to fill, figuratively speaking.

But Daniel's attention was drawn to the Jack standing before him. Was Janet still alive in his reality? He allowed himself a moment of envy, until he remembered his reality wasn't the one being invaded by the Goa'uld.

"She uh… there was an accident offworld about a year ago." He paused and looked down at the floor. "She didn't make it." He looked back up at Jack, and saw his face instantly turn to guilt and pity, but just as quickly as it came, his face turned back to its steely, sardonic glare.

"Let me guess," he spoke quietly. "Now you're going to go and say that if Fraiser had died in my reality, Ba'al wouldn't have attacked either."

Daniel was now officially ticked off by the man's attitude. "No, there's no way I would ever even think that! Like I said, there could be thousands of hundreds of differences between our realities!" He pointed an accusatory finger at Jack. "But you know what? I'm beginning to think that maybe you being such a dick-head has more than likely something to do with it." He turned to Dr. Brightman who was staring at them in shock. "Good luck," He told her before turning and storming out of the Infirmary, practically trampling over an airman in the process.

TBC-

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A/N: well, let me know what you think! Please review! 


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** ok, well I want to say thanks for all of the reviews! i'm so happy people are reviewing! So, I decided I'd reply to each review. If I miss you, just let me knwo, and I'm really sorry.

Star484- Thanks! I'm having a lot of fun writing this on. I always planned to write an AU story.

SG1-Fanfic- LOL, yeah, the part with Daniel was a lot of fun :)

feb04- thanks, yep, that was my favourite line too!

Sci Fi Fan Gillian- Thank you:)

Soccer-Bitch- thanks :)

janissima- You'll find more about what happened in the AU in chapter 3

againjustjane- thank you, and yea, AU Jacks are great!

get carter- Thanks :)

GateSeeker2- You'll learn more about the AU in chapter 3

misstweedledee- Thanks, well here's another chapter for you ;)

LiMiYa- Thank you, and like I said for everyone else, you'll find out soon! ;)

Thanks everyone! And a special thanks to Jedi and anj for reading through this for me!

* * *

Spoilers:It's Good to be King, Window of Opportunity

**"Realities Apart"**

Chapter 2-

"The POTUS agreed to go look for the ZPM." Jack informed AU Jack in his office several hours later.

"Thanks," He replied sincerely. Jack nodded, and they sat in silence.

"So, uh… give Walter the address, and you and SG-1 can ship out in a few hours."

AU Jack nodded, and silence once again befell them.

If anyone would have walked into the office then, they would have seen quite a site. Two identical men, sitting on either side of the desk, staring uncomfortably at anything other then each other.

"So… are you and Carter… are you, you know, together?" AU Jack asked.

"What! No! That's against regulations." General O'Neill replied instantly. "Are you… in your reality?"

"No!" AU Jack replied just as quickly. "So, I'll go give that address to Walter." He stood, hoping to escape the awkward turn of conversation.

"Yes, and I'll inform SG-1." Jack was also eager to end the conversation.

AU Jack left, and O'Neill shook his head. Working at the SGC was indeed rather strange.

* * *

"Chevron 2 encoded." Sergeant Davis' voice echoed through the 'Gate room as the second chevron lit up.

AU Jack stood at the base of the ramp with SG-1. It felt rather strange, and somewhat eerie. General O'Neill had strictly instructed that Colonel Carter was in charge. That would be interesting to see.

He turned to look at the Colonel in question, and found her staring at him.

"Carter, would you stop looking at me like _that!_"

"Like what, Sir?" She asked, frowning slightly.

"Like you want to stick me in a lab and see how I tick. And don't call me 'Sir'."

"Sorry… Colonel." She turned back to look up the ramp as the 'gate kawooshed into life. Jack couldn't help but grin.

Daniel was standing on the other side of Sam, a permanent frown firmly in place. Jack rolled his eyes. They hadn't gotten off to a good start with their previous argument in the hallway outside of Infirmary earlier.

On Jack's right stood the ever stoic Jaffa.

"Please Teal'c, don't look so excited."

Teal'c merely looked at the alternate and raised an eyebrow.

A few minutes after the MALP disappeared through the event horizon, the General's voice boomed over the speakers, "SG-1 and company, you have a go."

AU Jack grinned, and turned to give a sloppy salute. Never had he imagined the he'd ever see himself sending himself through the 'gate. Even the thought confused him.

They ascended the ramp, Jack with an eager gleam in his eyes. His world's future depended on this mission. No pressure or anything.

Sam took the lead, and they soon found themselves exiting through the other end of the wormhole.

Jack surveyed his surroundings, holding loosely to his P-90 which was clipped to his vest (he was surprised that General O'Neill had allowed him to carry one). There was the usual of trees, much to his dismay, and in the distance he could see the ruins which appeared to have once been a magnificent city. No doubt Daniel would be itching to get his hands on it. That was the direction they headed in.

"Where exactly is this ZPM located?" Daniel asked.

Jack shrugged, "All I know is the 'gate address, not _exactly_ where it is." He heard an indignant sigh from the archaeologists direction.

"So we're going to have to search the whole planet?"

"Yep." Jack replied with a small smile.

* * *

Three hours later, and they still hadn't found anything. They'd spread out through the city to cover more ground. There were only a few buildings which actually still stood, but even then it looked like they wouldn't last much longer. Jack had been through several building ruins that looked like they'd been laboratories; lots of different odds and ends that looked of many different technologies.

He was kicking through some rubble when his radio crackled into life. "Colonel," Sam's voice came through the radio. "I think we're going to have to contact the SGC and request another team or two to help with the search. We are on limited time."

Jack only had about another 24 hours before the entropic cascade failure started to kick in as a result of being in another reality. He grinned slightly as he reached for the radio to reply. It was as if she was asking him his opinion on the matter; as if he were in charge. Old habits die hard.

"Colonel Carter, O'Neill." Teal'c's voice interrupted him before he could reply. "I have located the ZPM."

Jack a threw a triumphant fist in the air. "Excellent T'! Where are you?"

"The north end of the city, O'Neill."

Jack set off at a dead run to the north. Every second he was in this reality, more people were dying in his. He only hoped that he could still reverse the situation.

He was the last to reach Teal'c's location, as he had been searching the southern end of the city.

Daniel, Teal'c, and Sam stood in a partially fallen building. Sam was carefully pulling a ZPM from a power outlet in the platform. It looked similar to the platforms which held the chairs on the other Ancients outposts.

"It looks like there was once a chair here." Daniel spoke, answering his thoughts. "It appears to have been ripped right out." He looked thoughtfully around the half destroyed building. "I can't wait to translate all the text I found. Hopefully some of it will explain what happened here."

AU Jack ignored the archaeologists excited ramblings, and focused his attention on Sam and the ZPM.

"Will it work?"

"I don't know," Sam shrugged. "We'll be able to see how much energy is left once we get back to the SGC… _If_ there's any power left."

"Positive thinking, Carter." Jack replied.

* * *

Sam looked up at AU Jack, grinning madly. "It's almost got full power. More than enough to activate the chair several times over, and even activate the 'gate to Atlantis."

"Yes!" Jack punched a fist in the air. "I could so kiss you right now, Carter!"

Sam blushed slightly as she laughed at him. "Let's go tell the General the good news."

* * *

"You know I can't send anyone with you. You're going to have to go through alone." General O'Neill explained 20 minutes later in the Briefing Room.

AU Jack nodded, "I never expected anything else."

"Ok, then you can go through right away."

"Wait, there's just one more thing that I was wondering if you could do for me. Well, actually if Carter could."

"What?" Jack and Sam asked in unison.

"Did you ever find that Ancient space ship?" AU Jack questioned.

"The one where Maybourne decided to play king?" Jack smiled at the memory. It had been his last trip offworld, and of course they'd ran into an armada of Goa'uld. Jack had managed to blow up a whole mothership with the sweet little ship they'd found.

"With the time machine?" Sam asked. The lights seemed to flick on in her eyes as she figured out what exactly it was that the alternate Jack was asking. "But it only travels in large increments of time; a hundred years or so.

"What?" General O'Neill looked between them in confusion.

"You want to go back in time, and stop Ba'al's attack before he does any damage." Daniel said, catching on.

"If the ship does not travel in smaller increments than that of a 100 years, then how will you accomplish this mission?" Teal'c asked, looking at AU Jack.

"That's where I need Carter's help." He looked at her across the table. "Do you think that you'd be able to fiddle with the ship? Maybe get it to only go back a few days? Or even a few weeks?"

"I don't know, I mean , I don't know much about Ancient technology. I don't even know if it's possible."

"Well it's got to be possible," Daniel interrupted. "Remember how Jack and Teal'c got stuck in the time loop? That was only a ten hour time loop."

"Good times." Both Jack's said with a grin.

Everyone at the table looked to them. Teal'c had a slightly amused expression of his own, obviously remembering his own adventures of the loop. Sam and Daniel looked to each other in concern. They still had no idea what the pair had gotten up to during their months stuck in the loop. It was now obvious that the AU Jack and Teal'c had shared the same experience.

"Anyway," Sam continued. "The ship might not have the capability to do that." She looked to the alternate. "But I'll try. If that's ok with you, General?"

Jack nodded. "So how do you expect to do this? Go back in time, then through the mirror, and use the ZPM when Ba'al arrives?"

AU Jack shook his head. "I don't think it would go down well when another you shows up with a ZPM asking to go through the mirror. It would be easier if Carter gave me the directions on how to fiddle with the ship, and I could go through the mirror, and get to the ship there."

"Isn't that a little risky?" Daniel frowned.

AU Jack shot him a glare. "And if I don't take the risk, everyone on my planet will be killed, enslave, or worse."

"Well, we'll deal with the details when Carter figures this thing out." General O'Neill said, breaking of any chance of an argument. _What was _that_ about?_

"_If_ I figure it out." Sam added.

"I have the utmost confidence in you." Jack assured her. "But we only have 24 hours before the entropy thing starts up."

"No pressure then?" Sam sighed.

"No pressure." The General stood from the Briefing Room table. "Oh, and just yell if you need me to fly the ship." He grinned enthusiastically. "Or if you need my advanced human brain to help with the alien technology."

"Yes, Sir." Sam smiled, raising from the table.

"I can go find the text from P4X-639, the time loop incident," Daniel clarified for Jack. "See if that's any help. And I'll bring coffee." He knew that they were in for 24 hours without sleep, and Daniel couldn't survive without his coffee.

"Please inform me if you need any assistance." Teal'c spoke before giving a quick bow before exiting.

"I guess I'll just be waiting." AU Jack felt useless. Here these people were, working their butts off to save his world, and all he would do was sit back and wait.

* * *

A/N: well there you go! Sorry if the next chapter takes a while, we're coming up to the end of the school year, so exams are coming up :( But the next is a long chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thanks for all of the reviews! I'm really happy that you're all enjoying it

Soccer-Bitch:Thanks!

Sci Fi Fan Gillian: Thanks!

Star484: lol! I love Jack's sense of humour! Thanks

misstweedledee: I hate exams too! And they're in two weeks cringes But thanks, and you'll find more out about Sam and Jack this chapter, it's very shippy

feb04: thanks, and about the Jack Daniel thing, there'll be more about that in chapter 5 probably.

Janissima: yep, your question will be explained momentarily, and there'll be even more about the reality differences in chapter 4

Stargate-fan: Thanks!

LiMiYa: Yep, I just love Jack's sense of humour!

Airam4U: Well thanks, and here's the next chapter

Enjoy!

**Spoilers:** Divide and Conquer, some previous spoiler warnings apply

* * *

"Realities Apart"

Chapter 3-

The ship had to be transported from Area 51 where it had been studied by scientists for several weeks. The quickest way to get the ship to Cheyenne Mountain was just to throw a pilot in, and fly it cloaked. It was a bit of a risk, but the President had agreed to it.

Jack had been a little dismal at the fact that Area 51 had used on of their own men, who had the ancient gene, to fly the ship. It would've taken too much time for Jack to fly to Nevada, when they could just use one of their own men, who'd been flying the ship during the tests.

So Sam had already been working for several hours. Daniel had already come and gone several times with coffee. The text from P4X-639 (the time loop incident) hadn't given them much. It was all about the history of the planet, and how they couldn't get the device to loop further than several hours. There was nothing about how exactly the device worked.

It was 2 a.m., and Sam gotten practically nowhere in 10 hours. The technology was so advanced, and she was beginning to think that what she was trying to do was impossible. She was at the stage where she had no idea of what to do anymore. It was just a continuous procedure of running into dead ends.

She wasn't sure exactly why or how she got there, but Sam suddenly found herself outside of the V.I.P. guest quarters, knocking on the door.

A minute later the door swung open to reveal the alternate Jack in a USAF shirt, and sweat pants. He squinted as the light hit his eyes, and he ran a hand through his sleep ruffled hair. He raised an eyebrow in surprise; obviously he hadn't been expecting to find her at the door.

Sam suddenly realized that she hadn't expected him to be asleep. It had completely slipped her mind of how early it actually was.

"Sorry, I woke you. I shouldn't have come. I'll just go." Sam quickly made for an exit, feeling embarrassed for even being there.

AU Jack shook his head. "I'm awake now; you might as well come in." He stepped out of the doorway, allowing her room to walk in.

She paused, looking at the entrance questioningly, and then stepped inside. Jack shut the door behind her, and the room plunged into complete darkness for a moment, before he switched the bedside lamp on. He turned around to face her, his face covered in darkness from the light behind him.

"So, how's the ship coming?" He asked, as he figured that was the reason why she was there. He hoped it was to tell him that she'd got it working, but from the somber look on her face, he knew that that wasn't the case.

Sam avoided eye contact, even though she could barely place his eyes in the dark. The lamp's light barely reached the further walls. Sam stood in the shadows, feeling safer in the dark, and giving her courage to voice her fears; "It's not so good. I've been working for hours, and I've gotten nowhere. I don't even know if there is a way, and if there is, I don't even know if I could do it. The technology is so much more ad…"

"Carter!" Jack broke her off, taking a step closer to her, and grasped her on the forearms with both hands. She looked up at him in defeat. "It's ok," He spoke quietly. "I shouldn't have asked you in the first place."

Sam stepped passed him, and sat down on the bed. "I just wish I could help."

"You already have." AU Jack turned to look at her, his face finally exposed to the small glow of light. "You helped me get the ZPM didn't you? Now thanks to you, my world has a chance. You've helped more than I could ever, should have ever asked for." He sat down on the bed next to her.

They fell into a thoughtful silence. Sam, no doubt, was frustrated with herself. Jack knew his own Carter well, and if they were even slightly similar, which they obviously were, then he knew this one too. Sam would do whatever it took to get things done, and Jack hated to be the reason for her to feel failure for something, even when she shouldn't.

"Don't blame yourself, there's nothing you can do."

"I'm not…"

"Yes you are," Jack interrupted. "I know you, Carter."

Sam closed her mouth, and peered curiously at him.

"You're looking at me funny again."

"Sorry," She frowned. "So… was I in the Air Force in your reality?"

"Yeah, still a Major, though."

"Oh? In the other two realities we've encountered I was a civilian."

"Same here." AU Jack responded. They fell into silence again as they both remembered the relationships their other alternates had shared in the other realities. It was something that they both tried not to think about often; the complications of Air Force regulations.

"What _exactly_ happened before you came through the mirror?" Sam asked, curious as to her own alternates' fate. She still feared that their own reality would also come under attack.

She saw him cringe, and she instantly regretted asking. "It's ok; you don't have to tell me."

"No, it's ok." He paused, and turned his head to stare blankly at the dull, grey SGC walls. "We were in a meeting, SG-1, for our next mission to some planet, I forget the address. General Hammond got an urgent call. It was NORAD, upstairs; they'd picked up at least a dozen Goa'uld motherships entering our orbit."

"A dozen?" Sam raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah, probably scared that we still had the ancient weapon in use. Anyway, Hammond instantly ordered to dial the beta site, but Ba'al was one step ahead of us; he was already dialing in. He appeared in one of those hologram things they stole form the Asguard, and started bragging about destroying the planet, and such.

"When we wouldn't surrender, he sent a ship, and blew up D.C. Then one headed straight towards us. Within hours they were in the base. We tried to keep them back, but there were too many of them." He paused, and took a deep breath before continuing. "I saw Jonas go down. I'm not sure what happened to Teal'c. That's when Carter suggested the mirror. You Carter's and your ideas." He smiled briefly as he continued to stare at an indefinable spot on the wall. He continued in a voice barely above a whisper.

"She was shot in the back by a damn staff blast when we were running for the mirror… she was dead before she even hit the ground." AU Jack paused, finally tearing his eyes away from the wall to look down at his hands in his lap. "I shouldn't have left her, I should've stayed."

"Why?" Sam frowned in confusion. Surely if Jack had stayed, he would've died along with her.

Jack lifted his head, and turned to look her in the eye. She almost did a double take at the pain, and longing she saw in his eyes. It was a look she'd barely ever seen; it was a rare occasion when his eyes told her everything.

A very vivid memory flashed into her mind.

"_I'd have rather died myself than lose Carter."_

"_Why?"_

"_Because I care about her… a lot more than I'm supposed to."_

"Oh…" Was all she could say.

"I never got to tell her how I really feel, and I'll regret that for the rest of my life."

Sam sat, awkwardly staring at his face, unable to look away. She was having a conversation that she'd once agreed to 'keep in the room'.

"Do you even care about him?"

"He's my CO!" She replied indignantly at the turn of conversation. Sam was not ready to voice something she'd kept inside for so long, something she'd never really admitted to herself.

"I asked if you cared about him, not if you were breaking the regs."

"You can't just come in here and ask questions like that!" Sam defended herself. She stood, ready to storm out of the room.

AU Jack quickly stood as well. "You're right, I'm sorry, I never should have asked you that. It's just that I've made a huge mistake, but I realized it too late. I lost her because of it. Because I thought I was doing us both a favour, but I was really just scared, that's why I never said anything. And I just don't want to see the same thing happen to you."

He stepped closer to her, and placed a gentle hand on her arm. "You deserve to be loved. You deserve to be loved to the end of the universe and back again. I'm such an idiot; I waited so long and now it's too late."

Jack pulled up his other arm, and placed it cautiously on her cheek. Sam felt her heart speed up, and her cheek warm to his touch as she was just helpless but to stare into his brown eyes.

"I love you Samantha Carter, I always have, and always will."

Sam bit her lip, and frowned. Her heart was now beating furiously in her chest, despite what her mind was screaming at her. Finally, after several moments of silence, she voiced the thoughts her mind was yelling for her to say. "I'm not her."

Jack brushed his thumb against her cheek, giving way to a new wave of sensations ripping through Sam's body. "I know, but I never got to tell her that, and I want you to know, that in my reality I loved you more than life itself, and I hope that the Jack in this world feels the same. If he doesn't, then he's a damned fool."

Sam felt numb. Her mind was still trying to tell her that this wasn't her Jack, but her body didn't seem to listen. Was he really any different from her Jack?

"I… I don't…" Sam stumbled. What was she supposed to say? A Jack O'Neill from an alternate reality was declaring his love for her, but it was really directed to an AU version of herself. Her mind felt like a tornado of confusion.

AU Jack shook his head. "You don't have to say anything." He dropped his hand from her face. A sudden wave of guilt washed over him. He shouldn't have laid this upon her.

"She loved you too." Sam blurted out. She already missed the warmth of his hand on her cheek. She continued to stare into his eyes as they registered shock and confusion.

"I mean, if she was anything like me, then she loved you."

Jack felt his heart constrict, and he stepped closer to her. He knew he didn't have to voice his thanks, words were definitely not enough. His gratitude was written clearly across his face.

Sam thought she saw a hint of tears in the corner of his eyes as she tilted her chin to look up at him. Jack looked uncertainly down at her, almost questioningly as he closed the distance between them. Sam closed her eyes in response at the last moment, and then his lips were on hers. Her whole body felt alive, and, without even realizing it, she began to return the kiss, allowing it to deepen.

AU Jack placed a hand on the back of her head, entwining his fingers through the short blonde strands of her hair. Sam wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pulling them even closer together. She felt Jack's other arm encircle her back, and run his hand up her spine. Her whole body began to shiver in response.

Their kiss grew hungrier; more desperate. Jack broke the kiss, too soon in both of their minds, but the need for oxygen had won out. He began to run a trail of kisses along her jaw, and down her neck. A small gasp escaped Sam's lips as she tried catching her breath.

From the puddle that had become her mind, Sam managed to extract one coherent thought. She pushed lightly on his chest. "Jack."

Jack's head shot up, his eyes opening wide. "You said my name." The corner of his lips curved up into a smile. He still held her tight in his embrace.

Sam tilted her head to the side, ignoring his comment. "What if… what if I can't get the time device to work, and you can't go back to save her?"

His arms instantly dropped to his sides like dead weights; reality crashing down on him. His eyes were once again afflicted with sorrow. "I'll still go through the mirror. Save whatever's left."

She knew that he would do whatever it took to save his world, even if most of it was laying in ruins. It was after he stopped the attack that she was worried about. Again, she remembered his words.

"_I'd have rather died myself than lose Carter."_

Suddenly, she knew exactly what AU Jack was thinking, and a flare of anger grew inside of her. "Oh no you don't! I thought you learned that lesson after Charlie!" He flinched at the mention of his son's death. Sam felt a sudden wave of sorrow for him, but quickly pushed it away. "I know that you wish you'd died instead of her, but I also know for a fact that she would want you to keep going, to keep living. She wouldn't want you to give up, that's not the Jack O'Neill she knew." Sam placed a hand on his arm, and he just stared down at where her skin touched his.

His silence only reassured Sam that she'd been right on the money; that he'd been thinking of ending it all once he stopped Ba'al. She was unsure if she'd swayed his thoughts though, and she sighed. "I should get back to the ship." Without another word spoken between them, Sam left the room, her mind more confused than when she'd entered the room.

* * *

A/N: once again, thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think! I was a little iffy about the kiss, it's only the second one I've ever written, so hopefully it was ok.

I'm going away for Memorial weekend, but I'll try my hardest to get it up beforeI leave, but if not it might not be until mid next week until I get it up. Thanks!


	4. Chapter 4

**Spoilers- **"Lost City", "Full Circle", "Death Knell", "Evolution", all previous spoilers apply.

**A/N:** Sorry this one took forever. It was hard with being away last weekend, and exams are this week. I realized that I'm off to Australia in ninedays, and the story won't be done by then. I promise to try and get a few updates during the month that I'm there, but if not, when I get back I'll do a lot. So, I'll try to get one more review in before I leave!

Soccer Bitch- Thank you!

Feb04- Thanks! Believe me, that last chapter was hard to write!

Airam4u- Yes, it was really tricky to get the emotions, that's usually one of the hardest things for me.

Matt1969- Thank you! And thanks for reading my story!

Sci Fi Fan Gillian- Thank you!

Getcarter- Thank you very much!

Stargate-fan- thanks!

Shiny Silver Grl- Thank you so much! I was really worried about the kiss, like I said, it's only the second one I've ever written.

Star484- blushes wow, thank you!

Janissima- Thank you, and you're welcome!;) As for if Jack will find out about the kiss… you'll have to wait and see :-D

LVB- Thanks! You're so nice. Sorry this chapter took so long to get to you! ;) Thanks for reading

Likesg1- Thanks for reading! Here's the next chapter.

Thank you so much for reading everyone! Every review I get puts a smile to my face. I really appreciate that people are reading this, and I'm overwhelmed by the amount that do! Thanks to anj and Jedi once again! Enjoy!

* * *

"Realities Apart" 

Chapter 4-

Early the next morning, General Jack O'Neill entered the lab where the ship had been placed. He couldn't see any sign of a certain Colonel he had no doubt had worked through the night. "Carter?" There was no reply. He proceeded to the rear end of the ship, and peered inside. Sam was fast asleep on the bench inside the ship by the time device.

Jack grinned as he stepped inside, and nudged her shoulder. "Rise and shine Carter!" He noticed several empty coffee cups on the opposite bench. Daniel had no doubt been by several times.

Sam was startled awake, and she quickly sat up, looking around herself in confusion as it took her a moment to remember where she was and why she was there. Her eyes focused on Jack standing by her. "General… oh no! What time is it!"

"6 am… wait a minute, how did you know it was me and not the other me?" He frowned.

"I can't believe I fell asleep." Ignoring his question, Sam jumped to her feet, and ran a hand through her sleep ruffled hair. "There's not enough time to get this done."

"Carter!" Jack interrupted, forcing her attention back to him. "How much longer do you think this will take?"

"I don't know, I don't think I can. It might be possible, but I'd need months, maybe even years to figure it out. I have basically no knowledge of Ancient technology." She bit her lower lip as she looked up at him.

Jack placed a hand on her arm. "You can't know everything, Carter. He can still go without the ship; he's still got the ZPM."

Sam glanced down at his hand on her arm. A wave of guilt washed over her and she quickly stepped away, and retreated to the other side of the time device, hoping he hadn't noticed her flinch. "I should've figured it out." She looked down at the device, avoiding his gaze.

Noticing her sudden withdrawal, Jack chose to ignore it for the time being. "Nobody's perfect Carter, even though I think you're the closest to it."

Carter drew in a small breath. "I want to go with him."

"The _other_ me will be just… you what!" Jack was astounded.

"I want to go through the mirror and help him."

"Uh no! There's no way that I'm letting you go! I know you feel responsible for not getting this thing," he gave a small kick to the time device, "working, which is insane. Getting yourself killed won't help anything."

Sam looked him in the eye. "I can look after myself… _Sir_."

"Carter," Jack gave her a warning.

She opened her mouth to protest, but Jack held up a finger. "Uh, uh. No 'ifs' 'ors' or 'buts'! You're not going, and that's that." He sighed. "Now let's go grab some breakfast before the briefing."

"Actually, Sir, I'd like to keep working."

"Carter…" But Sam set him with a leveling glare of determination. "Fine." Jack produced another irritated sigh. Obviously his good subordinate skills were rubbing off on Sam. "I'll see you in the Briefing Room in half an hour. Don't make me send Teal'c down to get you."

* * *

Half an hour later, Sam looked to AU Jack who was sitting in the chair next to her in the Briefing Room. "I couldn't get it to work, I'm so sorry." She looked completely defeated; bags under her eyes from pulling an all nighter. 

Au Jack shook his head. "Hey, no sweat. We new it was a long shot."

"See, Carter? I told you." General O'Neill said, but Sam refused to meet his gaze.

"I uh, couldn't find anything in the text we found on the planet," Daniel explained, "at least not in the parts that I was able to translate last night. Most of it was the history of the planet."

"Oh yes, my favourite part," Jack drawled.

"It's ok, really. I've still got the ZPM," AU Jack insisted. He was overwhelmed by their enthusiasm to help him out. He knew he wouldn't be surprised, though, his own team would've done the exact same thing.

"I'm going with you."

Every head in the room turned to look at Sam.

"What! No way!" AU Jack interjected instantly. "There is absolutely no chance you're coming with me."

General O'Neill groaned. "For crying out loud! Colonel, what did I say? I believe I said 'no!'"

"And I'm in agreement with the General," AU Jack agreed. "A scary thought, I know, but definitely a big 'no'!"

Sam ignored the General and looked pleadingly to the alternate. "Please, I want to help. It's crazy to send you alone. I couldn't help you get her-them, I couldn't help you get them back, so the least I could do would be to help you save the rest of your people."

"If this is about last night, this was never my intention."

At the head of the table, Jack's eyebrows almost hit the ceiling. "_Last night?_"

Sam shook her head, and AU Jack continued. "You know I can't let you go, especially you."

Jack looked to Daniel in utter confusion, but the archaeologist just looked back, equally confused.

"If you go in there by yourself, you'll get killed." Sam replied adamantly.

"I have no other choice."

"Yeah, about that…" Sam and AU Jack turned to look at the head of the table. They'd been completely oblivious to the fact that there had been anyone else in the room. General O'Neill continued, "I've been thinking since I talked to Carter earlier, and listening to whatever is going on here, I think Colonel Carter is right. It would be stupid to send you alone with the ZPM. If we go with you, there's more of a chance you'll make it out alive."

"And you'll still get to have your ZPM's." Au Jack concluded, and Jack nodded.

"When you say 'we'll go with you', do you mean us?" Daniel spoke up, waving a hand around the table.

"You don't have to if you don't want to."

Daniel sighed. "No, I'll come."

"I too will accompany you through the quantum mirror."

"Thanks Teal'c." The rather large Jaffa nodded in response to Jack.

"Ok, but I don't want Carter to come." Sam's head snapped to AU Jack.

"What?"

"Uh, what?" General O'Neill looked to his double. "Don't tell me you and the Carter in your reality have issues or something, because the Colonel is more than capable of looking after herself, and I trust her with my life."

Sam flushed slightly under the praise, but she and AU Jack both knew that that wasn't the case.

"I trust her with my life too, but that's not it, I don't want her to come."

Sam's patience finally snapped. "So it's ok for the General to go? What if he doesn't make it? Then we've got the same problem, only reversed. I _can _look after myself. You don't need to protect me."

AU Jack looked sadly at her determined face, and the whole room fell into an awkward silence. You didn't need a PHD to figure out what exactly was going on.

Suddenly, AU Jack felt an excruciating pain jab at his chest, and he gave a cry, keeling over at the waist. It felt like his whole body was being shredded into pieces from the inside out.

Just as quickly as it had come, it was over. AU Jack found himself lying on the floor. "What the hell was that!" He looked up and found Carter kneeling over him in concern.

"The entropic cascade failure is beginning to kick in." She replied.

"Of course it has." AU Jack cringed. "That hurts a lot more than it looks." He shakily got to his feet and looked at the others who had all managed to crowd around him.

"Well, if we're all going," He looked pointedly at Sam. "Then we'd better get moving. I really don't want to experience that again."

"Wait, how do you plan on getting to Antarctica?" Daniel asked.

"The ship. It's on the surface. Felger had been studying it until he managed to somehow almost blow himself to pieces. It was about to be transported to Area 51."

"Why on Earth did you let Felger anywhere near that thing!" Jack asked in shock.

"Hammond let him. Believe me, I told Hammond my thoughts on the subject."

"Ok… wait a minute!" General O'Neill looked to Sam slightly panicked. "What'll happen with the entropy thing when we go through the mirror to the other reality? Will it just disappear for him?"

Sam looked thoughtfully at him. "Well, once the Colonel returns, he'll be fine as he'll be back in his reality. I'm sure that for you, Sir, you should have approximately 24 hours before the entropic cascade failure kicks in."

"Well," he smiled in relief. "That should be fine, if we're there for longer than 20 hours, then I don't think it will matter too much. Well, I'll inform the president, he seems a little intrigued by all this, and I'll get Reynolds to run command while we're gone. So what do you say we meet at the mirror in an hour, geared up, and ready to go?"

"Yes, Sir." Carter nodded.

"Oh, and Teal'c?" Jack looked to the Jaffa. "Accompany the Colonel incase he has another little episode, would you?" Teal'c bowed his head.

"Ok, see you in an hour." Jack walked into his office, and closed the door, ready to make some phone calls.

* * *

An hour later, the group was assembled in to Storage Room, ready to go. Daniel, using the remote, was searching the mirror for the correct reality with AU Jack's help. 

Each member of SG-1, and AU Jack were fully armed, ready to take on whatever faced them on the other side.

"Are we going to need to use the prototypes?" General O'Neill suddenly asked.

"That what?" AU Jack asked.

"The prototype weapons." Sam repeated for Jack. "The modifications to the P-90s that can defeat the Super Soldiers."

"Super Soldiers?" Au Jack was completely perplexed.

Daniel stopped his search through the realities, and joined the conversation. "Anubis' drones."

"I have completely no idea what you're talking about."

Daniel asked incredulously, "Anubis never created the drones a year ago?"

"Anubis died almost two years ago."

"Of course!" Daniel exclaimed as if it were the most obvious thing. "I destroyed him, that would explain it." He looked to the others who all looked back at him, puzzled, except AU Jack who nodded.

"Well that's what we think." AU Jack said.

"Explanation?" Jack looked between the two.

"Remember when Anubis was after The Eye of Ra on Abydos? I tried to stop him, but OMA stopped me. At least we're pretty sure that's what happened. Well, in the Colonel's reality, he must have destroyed Anubis, and gotten away with it, which would explain why he's still ascended."

"Which would also explain why you haven't encountered the drones," Sam theorized.

"If Anubis was destroyed, then how did you encounter the Ancient Outpost of Antarctica?" Teal'c questioned.

"When Yu, attacked several months ago."

"We didn't attack you." Genera O'Neill smirked. The yu-you jokes never got old in his eyes, and it obviously didn't for the alternate Jack who grinned along with him.

Everybody else ignored the joke, while AU Jack explained, "After Anubis was destroyed, Lord Yu quickly took control of Anubis' forces, and he headed straight to Earth once I got my head sucked by one of those Ancient head-suckers again."

"With the outpost, you then destroyed Yu, and Ba'al took over." Daniel finished for him.

"Yes."

"Ok, so we won't be needing the prototypes then." The General looked to Daniel who then returned to his search while the others waited patiently.

"There! Stop!" AU Jack suddenly cried out after a few minutes, pointing to the mirror.

The mirror showed a small storage room where the door could be seen completely wide open. It showed right down through the hallway. In the middle of the hallway, a limp body lying on the ground could be easily seen.

"Is that Sergeant Davis?" Daniel questioned. His eyes squinted, trying to distinguish the dead body.

Au Jack grimaced. "Yeah, I remember passing by him on the way to the mirror.

"Ok, so this is it?" Jack asked, ready to go. He was a little more than eager to be going into action again.

"Wait a minute…" AU Jack looked carefully at the image being reflected to them. "No, that's not it. When I was coming down that hallway, two Jaffa come out of the storage room, they shot at me, and I took them out. There's no staff blast burns on the far wall, and the two Jaffa's bodies aren't there."

"Well, we're getting closer then," Daniel mumbled, and he slowly turned the dial again.

Two more realities later, they'd found the correct reality.

"Ok, we're going straight for the surface, to the ship. I'd prefer it if Ba'al didn't know we were there." Jack spoke as they all assembled closer to the mirror. "But, I'd prefer us being alive over them, so if force is necessary, you know what to do." He looked at each face in turn, and then gave a small smile. "Here we go, on three… one, two, three." All five simultaneously placed a hand onto the mirror's cool, smooth surface.

* * *

A/N: Sorry if there's many mistakes, my beta hasn't read it through yet, but I really wanted to get this up because it was taking so long. If there'sa herrendous amount, please let me know, and I'll fix it! Thanks once again. I'll try to get the next one up by next monday! 


	5. Chapter 5

Spoilers: "Chimera" "End Game" Previous spoilers may apply

Starr484- Thanks! I think there'll be a conversation in this one that you'll like!

LVB- Yes, I'm actually Australian, I've just been in the US for three years now. I am enjoying myself, but it's so cold! The yu-you joke was one of my favs too!

LiMiYa- he he, you'll love the convo between the two Jacks in this one.

Ilovesg1- Thank you! And I am having a great time in Australia!

janissima- Yes, I do like to have Sam as a strong individual. I hate having her all weak, although I do tend to write it sometimes!

shiny silver grl- Like I said, you'll love this conversation as well!

getcarter- Jealous? Just wait until you see what's about to happen!

feb04- Leave Sam at home! No way! ;)

Neko138- You're welcome, glad I could help!

TJ Bowman- Hey TJ! Thanks for reading my story! I hope you're having a great summer!

Sci Fi Fan Gillian, stargate-fan, Zoser, Airam4u- thanks! I really do appreciate you all reading my story!

A/N: Well, not much to say except sorry it's taking a while! I've been vacationing! and I'm still in Australia. I hope you enjoy this!

* * *

"Realities Apart"

Chapter 5-

"Colonel." Sam and AU Jack both looked to the General. "Uh, the other me. Take point. I don't want to suddenly find a wall in front of my face that shouldn't be there."

"Actually Sir, it seems that the differences in our realities are few, and most events in our realities are the same except for a few differences in the last few years, so the chance that-"

"Carter!" Jack cut her off. "Another time... maybe?"

"Sorry Sir."

"Teal'c, you take our six. I'll follow the Colonel here, then Daniel, and then Carter." Jack ordered.

"Yes Sir," AU Jack replied sarcastically before heading out into the hallway, his P-90 raised. The hallways were lit by the emergency lighting, and as they walked, long shadows were cast down the corridors from the bodies.

AU Jack headed silently for the stair well. No doubt the elevators were either out of order, or heavily guarded. All they had to do was make it to the higher levels so that they could escape through the escape hatch.

Each member of the group kept a fair distance between each other. There was a lesser chance, that way, of being ambushed.

They were closing in on the stairs when AU Jack lifted his hand in a closed fist. Behind him, Jack noticed the signal, and froze, and in turn, Daniel froze behind him.

Sam and Teal'c were still around the corner, and Daniel could only hope that they would stop when they rounded the corner, and that they wouldn't be making any noise, which was highly unlikely.

Jack was about to ask what was going on when he heard the noises himself; the unmistakeable sound of approaching Jaffa.

Daniel and both Jacks slipped silently through the nearest door, using AU Jack's ID card to unlock it. They found themselves within Felger's lab, which was discernible by the signs all over the walls, and in the hallway. Jack grinned, in his reality Felger had been placed, by Hammond, deep within the basement too.

They stood in silence as the footsteps drew nearer, all hoping that Sam and Teal'c would hear them in time. Their hearts all dropped when the footsteps paused outside of the door. After a few mumbled Jaffa words, including "Kree", as you'd be surprised if they didn't, a staff blast ripped onto the wall outside. Then, the footsteps began again and slowly headed down the hallway.

After the sounds disappeared, Jack turned to look at the others. "Ok, what was _that_ about?"

AU Jack shrugged and stepped past Jack to open the door. He swiped the card, but nothing happened. He tried again with the same result.

"They shot the lock," Daniel realized.

"So, how do we get the door open?" Jack asked.

"I have no idea, that's what we need Sam for."

"We can't try contacting her; we might give away their position." AU Jack stated.

"We'll wait 20, and then make contact." General O'Neill said. "Until then, we wait."

Daniel nodded, and turned his attention to the lock. He grabbed a screw driver from Felger's lab table, and pried the cover off.

Jack looked to his friend in confusion. "Daniel, what are you doing?"

"Just looking. I know I'm not exactly the scientific one, but I've seen Sam do this many times.

"You and Carter lock yourselves in rooms together often?" Jack raised an amused eyebrow.

"Very funny, but no. I've watched her do this off world."

"Last time I checked, alien technology was a little different." AU Jack pointed out.

With his back to them, Daniel rolled his eyes. "I know some of us may not be as smart as others, but a lock is a lock, they all serve the same purpose, no matter what technology. It can't be that hard. Plus, I do know Earth technology better than any other."

AU Jack glared at the archaeologist's back. "So, now you're saying that my intelligence, or lack-there-of, also caused this problem?"

Daniel turned around to reply when Jack cut in. "If our intelligence had something to do without, then our reality would have been doomed long ago." He looked irritably between the two. "What seems to be the problem here?"

"Daniel here seems to want to point out every flaw in my reality, and blame it for Ba'al attacking." AU Jack spoke, glaring at Daniel.

"I wasn't pointing out any faults; I was simply pointing out the differences. As for blaming them for the attack, I was just saying that the differences _could_ be one of many events that _eventually_ led to this."

"Exactly!"

"Ok, ok! Would you two stop already?" Jack looked to his alternate. "Since when do you care what comes out of Daniel's mouth?" Daniel rolled his eyes. "Do you have some sort of problem with the Daniel in your reality?"

"I'm dead in his reality, Jack." Daniel reminded Jack, sighing at his obliviousness. Although, he really was touched that Jack was sticking up for him.

"Oh," Jack felt guilty for a moment as AU Jack stared back in silence, masking his pain which only Jack, himself, could see. They were all surprised, though, when Jack suddenly burst, "So, that's it!"

AU Jack looked on in confusion. "What's it?"

"You're pissed that your Daniel's dead, and mine's alive." Jack smiled triumphantly in the knowledge that he'd figured it out.

Daniel sighed. He really was sick of them referring to him as some piece of property; using 'mine' and 'yours'.

"Jealous? Of you?" AU Jack was outraged.

"Yeah, Daniel's still alive in my reality, I'm a General, and we don't have snakeheads running over every corner of our planet."

Daniel hoped that no Jaffa would walk by. He wouldn't be surprised if the whole mountain could hear, and a whole horde of Jaffa was converging on them at that very moment. There was no way he was about to even attempt to break them up. He wasn't particularly interested in getting his head bitten off. He had to admit, though, that it was amusing to see Jack O'Neill arguing with himself.

"Janet's still alive here, at least she was before this all happened, and I know you hate being stuck behind a desk all day, and not being able to go out into the action! And I'm the one who realizes the mistake we've made."

"Oh yeah? And what mistake would that be?"

"I know that I went about it all wrong with her."

They both fell into silence, and then Jack asked, quieter than before. Although, he was pretty sure he already knew what the answer would be. "Who is 'her'?"

"Carter." One simple word and the whole atmosphere of the room changed.

Even though he'd been amused by the argument, Daniel now felt uncomfortable, and wished he was anywhere but in the room with them.

Jack looked equally, maybe even more, uncomfortable than Daniel. He certainly would rather be facing a million super soldiers.

AU Jack continued before Jack could even begin to think of a coherent sentence.

"You love her, and you can't deny it. You won't do anything about it because you're scared. Don't give me crap about regulations, or doing what's right. You're scared out of your mind that it wouldn't work, that maybe once you're with her it wouldn't live up to everything that you thought it up to be. Most of all, you're scared that she doesn't feel that same way, when she does. And it makes me so frustrated that you have her, yet you do absolutely nothing about it. If you keep on waiting, you'll end up like me; with no chance what-so-ever of being with her, and having to live with that everyday for the rest of your life."

Jack shook his head. "You're wrong about one thing. She doesn't care about me like that."

"_You're_ wrong."

"She's engaged!"

"What?" AU Jack took a half step back in surprise.

"Yeah, Pete Shanahan? The cop? They're getting married." General O'Neill kept the pain of his statement clear from his face, but just like he had, AU Jack saw right through the mask.

"Oh, she dumped that loser a long time ago, after he practically stalked her." AU Jack looked curiously to his double. "So, she's got a fiancé?" Jack nodded in response. "Oh... oops."

"'Oops'? What do you mean by 'oops'?" Jack's voice rose slightly, and he took a step closer to AU Jack.

"Nothing, never mind."

Jack advanced another step closer, his voice getting even louder. "What did you do?"

"It's none of your business."

"Like hell it isn't! Tell me."

AU Jack sighed. "I kissed her."

"YOU WHAT!"

AU Jack instantly took a defensive step back. "I kissed her, and she kissed me back." He was debating whether or not he should be intimidated by himself. He was somewhat entertained by Jack's obvious jealousy.

"Uh, guys, I think I can hear somebody coming," Daniel attempted to interrupt them. He could already see the General's fist planting itself in the other Jack's face any second now.

Oblivious to Daniel, Jack continued to glare. "I swear to god, you son of a -"

"JACK!"

They both turned to look at Daniel.

"What?"

"I think I heard someone coming, but I'm sure they already know we're here after the level of noise you two are making."

* * *

-10 minutes ago- 

Daniel had already turned the corner ahead of her when Sam heard the distinct metal clanging of Jaffa footsteps. She looked over her shoulder at Teal'c, and together they crept into an adjacent room, using her own ID, which thankfully worked, to open the door. No sooner had they closed the door when the footsteps rounded the corner. They grew closer, and paused outside of the door. Sam held her breath, and waited for the inevitable. A staff blast hit the wall outside, and Sam flinched. She finally let her breath out when the footsteps began again, and faded down the corridor.

Sam opened her mouth to speak to Teal'c when they heard the safety being switched off of several P-90's.

Quickly, Sam and Teal'c turned around.

* * *

A/N: thanks for reading! Ummm. I'm not sure when the next update will be. Please let me know what you think!  



	6. Chapter 6

SG1-Fanfic- Thank you!

airam4u- Thanks!

feb04- Well, you'll just have to read and find out! ;)

StargateFan- sorry for the long wait last chapter! This one was a little faster.

janissima- We're not sure what happened to AU Teal'c, he and AU Jack had gotten split up somewhere along the way. And you're about to find out who was in the room with them! 

getcarter- Sorry, I have a bit of a habit with cliffhangers! Lol... I did a little better with this one.

Starr484 -Wow! Thanks... I'm blushing! Thank you!

Veve- Thank you! Here's the next chapter!

LiMiYa- Well, you're about to find out who else is in the room.

Sci Fi Fan Gillian- Thanks!

A/N: I got this chapter done a lot faster! Well, I won't delay you any longer ;) Enjoy!

* * *

**"Realities Apart"**

-Chapter 6-

As Sam and Teal'c quickly spun around, they raised their weapons for whoever, or whatever, was standing behind them. They were both surprised to come face to face with several familiar figures, and by the looks on the faces of the others, they were equally surprised to see Sam and Teal'c.

Nobody moved or spoke a word. Sam slowly looked down the line of people. First, she saw Sergeant Siler. It seemed very odd to see him holding a P-90 in place of his usual wrench. To his right was Colonel Dixon, the leader of SG-13. Then there was a marine from SG-2, and an airman that she'd never seen before. The final three people were Colonel Reynolds, General Hammond, and Teal'c.

The AU Teal'c had his staff weapon raised, and pointed at Teal'c. The two Teal'cs were staring at each other, both with their heads tilted to the side, and their right eyebrow raised.

"Major Carter?" Hammond peered curiously at her over his P-90. It also wasn't often that you saw General Hammond with a weapon, especially when he was still wearing his dress blues.

"That's not her, I...I saw her body a few levels down." Colonel Dixon flinched as spoke, no doubt remembering the site of his comrade's body. Sam felt a chill run up her spine.

"Colonel O'Neill must have made it through the mirror." The unnamed airman said. "Major Green said that he saw the Colonel heading for it."

Sam lowered her P-90, and Teal'c slowly followed suit. "Yes, Colonel O'Neill came through the mirror, and we helped him to find a ZPM."

Instantly, they all lowered their weapons, and looked at Sam in surprise. Even AU Teal'c managed to look shocked.

"You brought a ZPM, Major?" AU Hammond looked at her in hope. The pain of losing so much was already etched into the General's face. Sam was relieved that she did have a ZPM. She would've hated to tell him otherwise.

"Actually, it's Colonel, and yes, we brought one with us."

AU Hammond nodded. "Where's Colonel O'Neill?"

"We're not sure. We got split up. He should be with Daniel and General O'Neill."

There was a chorus of surprised "_General_ O'Neill?" and "Daniel Jackson!"

"We've been taking out Jaffa patrols, doing whatever we can," Hammond continued after the surprised comments died down. "It's not much, but with such small numbers... there's just too many of them. They've been locking the doors, trying to worm us out. Do you think you'll be able to get the door open?" he directed the question to Sam in particular.

"No problem." Sam gave a small smile, and turned around to pry open the panel. She began working away at the wires immediately.

The Teal'cs got into a quiet, animated discussion. For a man of few words, he sure had a lot to say to himself.

After a few minutes, AU Hammond came over to talk to Sam while she was working.

"_Lieutenant_ Colonel?"

"Yes, Sir." Sam smiled proudly.

"Congratulations."

"Thank you."

"And Jack is a General."

Sam stopped her work for a moment, and turned to him, grinning. "I believe that was your idea."

AU Hammond chuckled quietly. "Of course. I'm surprised your reality isn't a pile of rubble." Suddenly, his face turned stone cold as he remembered the state of his won reality. "I guess I can't do much better." He said sombrely.

"Listen," Sam looked sadly up at him. "I'm sorry for what's happened here."

"Are you the one leading the attack?" Sam shook her head. "Then this isn't your fault," Hammond continued. "You've given us a ZPM, and you're here to help us. You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for. In fact, we should be thanking you."

Sam nodded. She'd already heard that several times that day.

General Hammond's face once again once again shifted to reflect the horrors that had unleashed themselves on his reality. This time, it revealed that of a mourning father. It reminded Sam of the look in AU Jack's eyes, and the story of her alternate's tragic death. It was a look she wished she'd never have to witness again.

Sam opened her mouth to speak words of comfort which she knew would mean very little after all of the loss he'd already encountered, but he silenced her by placing a hand on her arm. "Take care of yourself, Sam."

She smiled sadly through teary eyes, and nodded her head; ever the subordinate little soldier.

Without another word spoken, AU Hammond turned and left her to finish.

It took her less than a minute longer to get the door open, and within a couple more minutes they were on their way.

As they advanced down the hallway, the sound of raised voices grew louder. The voices were muffled, until Jack's voice bellowed, "YOU WHAT!" followed by, "I swear to god, you son of a -"

"Jack!" the second voice was unmistakeably Daniel's. After that was a few quiet words, and then silence.

Sam looked to Teal'c standing on her left. Thoughts of them standing before several Jaffa flitted into her mind, and Jack mouthing off as always. She grabbed her radio, and hit the talk button twice. If it were safe, which she prayed it was, General O'Neill would respond.

"Carter?" O'Neill's voice instantly replied through the radio at a whisper.

"Sir, is everything alright?"

There were some more mumbled voices through the door before he replied. "Yeah, we're fine." She hinted a bit of an edge to his whisper. "Where are you Carter?"

"We're outside Felger's lab."

"Great! We're _in_ Felger's lab!"

"Really?" AU Colonel Dixon commented sarcastically. Sam bit back a grin.

"I told you I heard somebody coming!" They heard Daniel chastise Jack in the lab.

"Sam?" Daniel's voice came through the radio. "Some Jaffa came through and shot the lock."

Sam looked to the charred lock on the wall. "I know, I won't be able to open it from out here, you'll have to do it. I can walk you through the steps."

"Make it quick, Maj... Colonel." AU Hammond warned. He posted Reynolds and Dixon each at different ends of the hallway.

"Ok, first Daniel, you'll have to pull off the plastic cover..."

It took Daniel almost three times as long as it had taken Sam, but no more than ten minutes later, the door slid open.

There was a moment where the crowd gathered in the hallway looked from one jack to the other. Obviously it never did get old.

The occupants of the reality also shared a few curious and saddened glances at Daniel.

"And I thought that one O'Neill was more than enough." AU Reynolds commented, eliciting a chuckle from Colonel Dixon.

"Shut it Reynolds." Both Jacks snapped in unison, and then looked at each other in disgust.

"Colonel?" Hammond stepped out from amongst the group, looking at both O'Neill's trying to distinguish between them.

"Sir." AU Jack looked to him in relief. "I'm glad to see you're ok."

"Likewise, son."

AU Jack looked to the rest of the group. "Reynolds, Siler, Dixon." He nodded to each in turn. "Davis and Johnson, right?" He questioned the nodding Marine and Airman.

Finally, his eyes fell on Teal'c. "T'!" A huge grin spread across his face.

"O'Neill." Teal'c bowed his head.

"Is this all that's left?" AU Jack looked sadly at his superior officer.

Hammond nodded. "Do you have the ZPM?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Let's get out of here."

They'd made it up several levels before they once again heard Jaffa approaching. The large group of 12 quickly piled into an adjacent room.

Again the lock was shot out, and Sam set to work to get the door open, while the others began a hushed conversation of tactics.

A few minutes into her work, Sam felt the presence of someone walk over, and stand next to her. A quick glance to her right showed her that AU Jack was hovering next to her.

"Colonel." She acknowledged him.

"How can you always tell us apart?"

"Well for one you're wearing different clothes." She hid a small grin.

AU Jack looked down at himself. He was wearing the standard green pants and long sleeve jacket. The other Jack was also wearing the green pants, but instead of the jacket he wore a short sleeve black T. As he looked over at the General, he noticed him watching their conversation intently.

"Did you want something?"

His attention was drawn back to Sam. "Listen, if I'd have known you were engaged..."

Sam's head snapped to look at him. "How did you... who told you?"

"Jack."

Sam looked over to the others, and her eyes connected with his instantly. Her stomach did an instant nose-dive, and she quickly looked back to AU Jack. "He knows that we..."

"Yeah, I kinda told him."

Sam felt her cheeks get hot with anger. "You had no right."

"I'm sorry, but if I'd have known about Pete, I never would have kissed you."

Sam turned back to working on the lock. "Now really isn't the time to be having this conversation."

AU Jack suppressed an irritated moan. "I told that holding things off doesn't help." He watched her work away on the lock. "Ok, I just feel really selfish about last night, and I'm sorry for any implications it might have caused you." He rested a hand on her arm. "Like I said, I just don't want you to make the same mistake."

Sam paused, and looked down at where his hand rested on the olive green of her jacket sleeve. Her eyes then travelled to where General O'Neill stood, watching her closely. A wave of unsurmountable guilt swept over her, and she quickly pulled her arm away. "It's ok, I understand, and I appreciate it, really."

She dissolved herself back into her work, something she always managed to do to get her mind off the emotional rollercoaster she constantly seemed to be riding. She now felt more confused than ever. She felt guilty for kissing the alternate when she was engaged to be married. But what puzzled her greatest of all, was that she felt like she'd betrayed Jack, even more so than her own fiancé.

AU Jack looked over to where the other Jack stood. A deathly glare had stolen over the General's features.

At that moment, the door slid open, and all the conversations in the room ceased.

"Well let's do this." AU Jack turned towards the door. As he raised his weapon, all thoughts and emotions were pushed to the back of his mind. All that remained was the mission at hand, and saving what was left of his world.

* * *

A/N: Oh, and with the whole opening the door thing, I don't even pretend to know if she'd be able to still open it from the inside!  
The next Chapter will have a lot more action in it. I'll try to get it done as fast as I can. Let me know what you think!  



	7. Chapter 7

**Spoilers:**Abyss, Cold Lazarus

**Warning:** This chapter has a fair bit of death and violence in it. Specifically at the end. I wouldn't write it unless it was necessary for the story. It's nothing you haven't already seen on TV these days. If things seem to be wrong... just keep reading ;)

againjustjane- Thank you very much!

shiny silver grl- He he, I just love Jack in general! I love some characters who aren't in the show often (Dixon, siler, etc) so I thought it would be fun to have them in an alternate reality! ;)

feb04- Very true! Lol

getcarter- lol, well at the end of this one you'll know which Jack you feel sorry for!

Starr484- I know! I got half way through the story and realized that Pete was still around! And yes, a not evil AU Teal'c for once!

StargateFan- thank you!

SG1-Fanfic- Thanks! Lol

Punctie- Thank you very much!

janissima- thanks and you're welcome! I think it would be great to see two Teal'cs together! Btw, I saw you got nominated in the fic awards! Congrats!

LVB- Jack never can get along with himself, can he?

LiMiYa- I think I'm even confused with what Sam's feeling! ;) lol I'd hate to be in her position, but then again, I just say screw everything, and be with Jack!

Ilovesg1- yes, I'd hate to be in AU Hammond's shoes, losing everyone, and feeling like you failed them.

Sci Fi Fan Gillian- Thanks!

airam4u- thank you!

A/N: Ok, I forgot to say this last time, thanks to anyone who nominated me in the stargate fan awards! I'm so excited! And congrats to those who got nominated! Umm... this chapter means a lot to me, something happened while I was writing this, and I was hoping I could sort of channel my feelings through to the story, but I don't think it worked very well. Well... enjoy!

* * *

"Realities Apart" 

-Chapter 7-

No one knew anything was amiss until Johnson was lying dead on the ground by Dixon's feet.

"Take cover!" Dixon yelled to the rest of the group before he swung around and let out a round of fire at the approaching Jaffa.

Luckily, the group had come across a 't' in the hallway, and they split up, taking cover around the corners of the adjacent hallways.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jack saw Reynolds get shot in the side as he ran for cover. Airman Davis and Siler quickly pulled him into the safety of the hallway. That put Jack, Hammond, Daniel, and the Teal'cs on one side of the hallway, with Sam, AU Jack, the injured Colonel Dixon, Davis and Siler on the other.

As soon as they were all in the safety of the hallways, they took up positions by the corners, and began a counterattack on the Jaffa.

Four Jaffa had been taken down by the time Jack had to reload, but the Jaffa just seemed to keep coming.

"Sir!"

Jack looked across the hall at Sam's plea. More Jaffa were coming down their hallway! One of the Teal'cs, he wasn't sure which one, was lying motionless on the floor, and as he looked he saw Dixon get hit straight in the chest.

Peering back down the hallway they'd come, at least 10 more Jaffa were still closing in on them. It seemed that every Jaffa they shot, two more appeared in their place.

"Jack!" Jack yelled across the hallway to his alternate self, and then let out a quick burst of fire at the approaching Jaffa.

"What!" AU Jack screamed over the deafening noise of gun shots and staff blasts.

"Go! Get out of here! You can still make it before they come up behind us!"

"I can't just leave!"

"Like hell you can't! We didn't come here to watch you die! Now go!" Jack paused from his attack on the Jaffa to look across at AU Jack.

After a moment, AU Jack nodded.

"We'll cover you, now go!"

Without another thought, AU Jack sprinted into motion, and into the main hallway. He ran as fast as his legs would carry him. A staff blast flew right by his head, a little too close for comfort, but after what felt like an eternity, he reached the end of the hallway, and bounded around the corner.

He didn't stop until he reached the escape hatch. AU Jack quickly unscrewed the wing nuts, and pulled the door open. The hatch was pitch-black when he pulled the door shut behind him.

Suddenly feeling chillingly alone, AU Jack began the long climb to the surface.

* * *

"Jack, I'm out of ammo!"

Jack threw a helpless look at Daniel; he was on his last mag himself. A quick glance around the corner told him what he already knew; there were just too many Jaffa. The Jaffa coming down the side hallway had been taken down, but it was just a matter of time before more appeared. He knew he only had one option.

"Cease fire!" He screamed. "Stop!"

All earth weapons stopped firing, and a few seconds later the Jaffa stopped as well.

"We surrender!" Jack called to the Jaffa, and looked over at what was left of the group: Sam, Daniel, Sgt Siler, Hammond, and one of the Teal'cs.

Jack threw his weapon to the ground, and the others followed him.

Several minutes later they were being escorted to undoubtedly Ba'al. There were 12 Jaffa escorting them, escape was pretty much unthinkable.

The Jaffa formed a tight circle around their new prisoners. Jack was at the back of the group. Sam and Daniel were standing side by side in front of him, then Hammond and Siler, with Teal'c up the front.

"Teal'c... are you... I mean, which one are you?" Jack asked curiously as they continued their march down the hall.

"I am of this reality, O'Neill."

Jack felt his heart sink, and saw Sam and Daniel's shoulders sink in front of him. "Oh."

"I am sorry."

"Don't be sorry that you're not dead in his place." Jack told the Jaffa.

"Silence!" The Jaffa behind Jack gave him a small shove.

"Yeah sure you betcha," Jack mumbled in a whisper.

Minutes later they were escorted into the 'Gate Room. The Stargate itself was inactive, and the iris was firmly in place. Up in the Control Room several Jaffa were looking curiously at the computer screens, jabbing randomly at the keyboards.

Standing at the base of the ramp, was none other than Ba'al himself. He was looking mightily pleased with himself as the group walked into the room and assembled in a line in front of him.

"Still haven't figured out how to use our dialing system, huh?" Jack smirked before he was hit in the back of the knee, and forced to kneel. He grimaced as a sharp pain shot up his leg.

Ignoring Jack's question, Ba'al looked down the line at every single one of them, and landed on Jack with a grin spread across his face; one that Jack wished he could wipe off with a nice fist in the face.

"Colonel O'Neill, it is a pleasure to see you again."

"Actually, it's General now, and I wish the feeling was mutual."

"It is unfortunate that you escaped my fortress. I took great pleasure in killing you a hundred times over. But now you're here, and I'll get to kill you one, last, final time. After, of course, you witness the death of all your friends."

Jack remembered being tortured by Ba'al, and dieing over and over again. Jack shook his head, clearing the images from his mind. "See now, that's not going to happen, because then I'd have to kill you."

Ba'al threw his head back and let out a deep laugh. "Is that so? I'd like to see you try." He nodded to a Jaffa, who then grabbed Slier and brought him forward.

General Hammond protested, but another Jaffa stepped forward to hold him firmly in place. "You can't do this!"

"I am a god; I can do whatever I please." Ba'al lifted his hand to reveal a Goa'uld hand device. Siler struggled to get free, but he was too late. Ba'al activated the device, emitting a gold glow.

Daniel flinched. There were too many times that the device had been used on him.

Moments later, Siler slumped dead onto the floor.

"My Lord!" Two Jaffa came into the room dragging the body of Teal'c with them.

Jack felt a lump rise in his throat at the sight of his friend's dead body.

Ba'al looked from the body to AU Jack who was kneeling next to Jack. "What is this?"

"You mean you haven't met Teal'cs twin brother Murray?" Jack asked in mock innocence.

Within the blink of an eye, Ba'al seized a staff weapon from the Jaffa by him, and shot AU Teal'c in the chest.

Jack jumped. "Jesus!" He looked down at AU Teal'c lying on his left, and looked up at Ba'al who wore a malicious grin.

"Are you going to kill me yet, O'Neill?" Ba'al chuckled.

"I'm thinking that sounds pretty good." Jack lunged at Ba'al. His hands were merely centimetres from the Goa'uld's throat when two strong hands grabbed both of his shoulders, and forced him back to his knees. The hands belonged to two Jaffa who kept their hands firmly in place, holding him to the ground.

Jack glared at Ba'al with murder written in his eyes. The Goa'uld laughed again before walking down the other end of the line of prisoners. At the far end kneeled General Hammond, and Ba'al turned to look at him.

"I do not know this one."

"General Hammond, commander of this facility. You'll regret coming here."

Ba'al smirked, "Is that right?" He lifted his hand, activating the hand device.

"No!" Daniel, who was on Hammond's left, lunged at Ba'al. Ba'al was too quick, though, and he turned the device on Daniel, sending him flying across the floor, and into the wall.

Sam winced as a Jaffa dragged him back into place on her right, but sighed in relief when she saw that he was conscious, only a little sore.

"Fool!" Ba'al sneered before turning the device back on General Hammond, until all the life had been drained out of him.

Jack, Sam, and Daniel looked sadly at Hammond.

"The infamous SG-1," Ba'al drawled. "Nothing can save you this time."

Sam shook her head, speaking for the first time. "You have no idea what you've got coming."

"Yep, any minute now, you and every one of your Jaffa will be dead." Jack spoke. "And that's a promise."

Ba'al laughed: something he'd been doing too much in Jack's opinion. He was trying to stall. All Jack needed to do was give AU Jack enough time to make it to Antarctica. Providing he'd made it out of the mountain.

Ba'al turned to Daniel and raised his hand.

"So what? You're just going to kill us?" Jack yelled, growing desperate.

"What other use do I have for you?"

Jack fell silent, unable to supply a good answer.

Daniel looked up into the eyes of Ba'al as he once again raised his hand. A searing pain ripped throughout his entire body. He fought the urge to close his eyes and scream in pain. Instead, he gritted his teeth, and kept his eyes focused on Ba'al's, wishing the Goa'uld a thousand painful deaths.

Time seemed to slow as Daniel felt himself getting weaker, slowly fading. He was barely aware of Jack and Sam on his left, struggling with all their strength to reach him.

No memories flashed through his mind in those few moments, no hopes or wishes, not even any thoughts of revenge. Just one wish that he'd done something; that he should've tried harder.

Daniel's body slipped to the floor, and Sam instantly stopped struggling. She turned her head away from him, squeezing her eyes shut tightly.

"You'll regret this!" Jack spat vehemently as Ba'al.

Ba'al just grinned his ever present smile at him in pure glee, and stepped up to Sam.

Jack's heart caught in his throat. They were the only two left. They were going to die.

He watched as Ba'al's hand seemed to rise in slow motion.

Sam's eyes opened, and looked right at Jack. She spoke volumes with her blue eyes. He saw everything they'd been through together, and everything they could've been.

"You can't do this!" Jack yelled in desperation.

"Try and stop me."

Jack struggled to get free from the Jaffa's unbreakable grip as the hand device hummed into life. His hands balled into fists. Ba'al was slowly killing Sam right in front of him, and there was nothing he could do. He was completely numb to the fact that his nails had pierced the skin of his palms, and blood was being drawn out. He simply squeezed harder as if he could squeeze away the pain that was over taking him.

A cold hand was wrapping itself around his heart, and he felt a dark void opening deep within himself, one that he couldn't escape, no matter how hard he tried.

Sam fell silently to the ground. The only sound Jack heard was the blood pounding excruciatingly loud in his ears.

He looked around himself at the bodies that lay before him; the bodies of people who'd become his family in the last eight years. One had become even more.

He felt himself slip deeper into the void which seemed to be consuming him, and he no longer fought against it. It was something Jack hadn't felt since he'd lost his son all those years ago.

Jack fell down onto his legs, dipping his head in defeat. His hands enclosed around a small object hidden in his sock as he felt the hands loosen on his shoulders.

"You shouldn't have done that," Jack whispered. He looked up at Ba'al, his brown eyes empty of any emotion. There was nothing but a dark opening within them.

Suddenly, Jack stood and lunged forward, plunging the small knife, gripped tightly in his hand, into Ba'al's throat.

Ba'al blinked in surprise, the smug smile wiped from his face.

Jack only felt a small prick in his back as a staff blast hit him.

The last thing he saw was the Goa'uld's eyes flash for the last time, and then the world fell from around him.

-TBC-

* * *

A/N: There's still more to come! I promise! ;) Let me know what you think!  



	8. Chapter 8

Spoilers: Fragile Balance, Atlantis' Rising 1 & 2, previous spoilers apply

StargateFan- lol. Well, I hope you have made it to the bathroom some time in the last few days!

Airum4u- Sorry about that! I tried getting this chapter up as fast as I could.

Againjustjane- Yep, just AU Jack left… but then again… O! I like being cryptic!

Sophiedb- Sorry, I'm a bit of a cliffhanger junkie!

Star484- Umm… just wait and see.

Gater62- AU Jack is flying via the PJ (which they just call the ship since they don't know that it's called a Puddle Jumper yet)

Janissima- lol… you'll have to wait and see

Feb04- Of course I know what I'm doing! ;) As for them all coming back… keep reading

SG-Fan- Thank you very much!

Sam Carter O'Neill wagtail JEDI- Thanks! And yet again… you'll have to wait and see.

Questionablelight- lol thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying it.

LiMiYa- Thank you.

silver shinysilvergrl- Thanks. Yes, I really wanted Sam's death to affect Jack, to further along the story, and just because, lol

Sci Fi Fan Gillian- thank you!

Get Carter- lol, I love action!

Deathzealot- Thank you!

A/N: WOW! I'm so happy with all of the reviews. Hopefully I've still got people reading this after that last chapter! Lol. I tried getting this one up as quickly as possible. It would've been quicker, but I flew back from Aus Wednesday.

Well, I hope you all enjoy this one, it's a little short, but the next will be longer.

* * *

"Realities Apart"

-Chapter 8-

AU Jack descended in the elevator, deep into the ices of Antarctica. He was slightly surprised to find no one on the base when he arrived. For a moment he let himself wonder what had happened, and hoped that Ba'al hadn't gotten there before him.

He traced the familiar route to the chair. His sigh of relief at the empty chamber came out in a puff of white smoke, and he wished that he had a nice, warm jacket.

As he stepped up to the chair, he quickly and carefully pulled off his pack.

"Jack."

Jack quickly spun around, and looked at the man standing before him in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry; I just got back and found out what was going on. God, I'm so sorry Jack!"

"You're really you?" Jack asked skeptically.

"Yes…oh, um, I'm not the one from the other reality, it's really me." He said with a small smile.

AU Jack looked at the familiar white sweater he always wore, and the noticeable absence of his glasses. Jack pulled a candy bar from his vest pocket, and threw it at the man in front of him.

The chocolate bar went straight through AU Daniel who rolled his eyes. "Do you always have to throw things through me?

"Where the hell have you been!"

"I was busy, but I'm here now."

"Ok then, you're the one with all the powers, fix this."

AU Daniel shook his head. "Power corrupts."

"You did it with Anubis, and now he's gone! What about Carter, and Teal'c! Are you just going to throw all that away?"

"There are many things that we would throw away if we were not afraid that others might pick them up."

Jack shook his head in confusion. "How hard can it be, Daniel? Just turn back time a couple of days, or something."

"Time is what keeps things from happening all at once."

"Agh!" Jack cried. "Would you stop with the Oma-isms! This is Earth we're talking about!"

"Jack you know I can't!"

"I don't care about any goddamn rules!"

Daniel regarded him carefully, and spoke in a much calmer tone than Jack. "You seemed to follow the Air Force regulations very carefully for a man who doesn't care about rules."

"Things change."

They stared at each other for several long minutes. Jack's face looked at his old friend filled with malice, while Daniel's blue eyes were deepened by sadness.

"Well, I have something I need to finish." Jack spat coldly to Daniel as he spun on his heal, and inserted the ZPM into place.

"I'm sorry, Jack."

Jack ignored Daniel, and he looked apprehensively at the chair. The last time he'd controlled the weapon his mind had been taken over by an Ancient database. He was unsure how well he could operate it on his own.

Slowly, he sat down in the chair, and the podium lit up and the chair reclined backwards. Jack closed his eyes, concentrating on activating that weapon.

After months of research, it had been discovered that the chair could be controlled by the mind of somebody who possessed the special ancient gene. Jack was lucky enough to have that gene, which had actually caused him to be victim to one of the Asgard Loki's mischievous shenanigans.

Several minutes past before Jack suddenly felt his mind connect with the chair. In his mind he could see the drones leaving the earth under the base, and raising out of the chamber, and fly high into the sky above Antarctica. Suddenly, Jack realized that he was controlling the strange, yellow drones, and allowed his mind to lead them to disperse in different directions.

He was flooded by images of destruction all over the world, as the drones quickly encompassed the earth. Cities were burnt to the ground, some were merely deep craters. So much death and destruction.

Bent of revenge, he led the drones deep within Cheyenne Mountain. He found Ba'al, but not as he expected. The Goa'uld lay dead on the floor of the SGC 'Gate Room, surrounded by the bodies of Siler, Hammond, both of the Teal'cs, the other Jack, and Sam.

AU Jack's eyes flashed open, and he lay still in the reclined chair. Every Jaffa had been destroyed, yet only a single image of all the destruction he'd seen was burned forever on his mind: the 'Gate Room filled with so much loss. Not only had he lost his own friends, but he'd led an alternate reality version of them to their deaths.

"Daniel," he croaked, getting out of the chair.

Daniel was nowhere to be seen.

"Daniel!" Jack yelled louder, desperately.

And then he was alone. He fell to his knees, completely numb to the pain that shot through him from his weak knee.

Suddenly, a white light began to fill the room. It got so bright, that Jack had to squeeze his eyes shut.

"The text that SG-13 found on P3R-451 mentions a device that holds great power and supplied enough power for the whole city, and because the text is…"

AU Jack snapped his eyes open, and looked at the man speaking. "Jonas?"

Jonas stopped talking and looked at him. "Sir?"

Jack looked around himself in astonishment to find himself seated at the briefing room table, and also seated around the table were General Hammond, Major Carter, Teal'c, and Jonas.

"Colonel?" Hammond asked when he didn't reply. Everyone looked at him curiously.

"What's going on?"

"Sir?" Sam threw him a worried glance. "Are you ok? You look like you've just seen a ghost."

"Excuse me, Sir?" Walter interrupted, appearing at General Hammond's side. "You have an urgent phone call from NORAD."

"Thank you, Sergeant." Hammond looked at SG-1, "Excuse me for a moment." He quickly stood from his chair, and hurried into his office, picking up the large, red phone.

Jack's eyes followed the General, his entire attention focused on the conversation in the office which he couldn't hear. A major sense of déjà vu was beginning to kick in.

His team mates threw him curious questions, but to no avail. Merely seconds later, General Hammond hung up the phone, and walked back into the room, his face as pale as a blank sheet of paper.

"NORAD just picked up a couple of dozen Goa'uld motherships entering the solar system."

* * *

A/N: Another cliffhanger, I know! lol, it had to be done!

Anyway, let me know what you think, and to everyone who gets SciFi, enjoy the new episodes tonight! I know I can't wait! ;)


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: First of all, feb04 pointed out that they didn't want spoilers, don't worry, I'm not going to spoil season 9. I've ran into spoilers before, and I know how it feels. So, there'll be no season 9 spoilers!

StargateFan- Thanks! And I hope you enjoyed the episode!

Sam Carter O'Neill wagtail JEDI- Well thanks for replying to my story too! I loved the new ep, and I hope you enjoyed it too!

getcarter- thank you! And I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Airam4u- Thanks! Here it is.

Starr484- lol, if you're a little confused, this chapter explains some of it, and even more is explained next chapter.

sophiedb- You're about to find out what happened to our reality guys.

feb04- as promised, no season 9 spoilers ;)

SG-Fan- thanks! Here's the update.

janissima- sorry for the confusion! Yes, it's still AU Jack, and the rest will be explained, promise!

LiMiYa- lol, You're about to find out!

Sci Fi Fan Gillian- thank you

gatelover- sorry, lol. Here's the next chapter!

A/N: Once again, thanks to everyone! Here it is…

* * *

"Realities Apart"

-Chapter 9-

AU Jack jumped to his feet. "Sir, we need to go to P3R-451, now."

"Colonel?"

"We need to get through the 'gate before Ba'al dials in, so we can get a ZPM."

Jack had figured out what was going on. Time had obviously been turned back, probably by Daniel. But now wasn't the time to worry about the hows or whys, he'd been given another chance, and this time he'd do it right.

"Unscheduled Offworld Activation." An announcement burst through the speakers as the gate exploded into life in the room below them.

"O'Neill," Teal'c interrupted Jack's string of curses. "Is that not a ZPM that you hold in your hands?"

Every pair of eyes in the room, including Jack's, looked down to his hands where, sure enough, he carefully held a ZPM.

"Huh," Jack mumbled in surprise.

"Colonel O'Neill, how on Earth did you get a ZPM?" Hammond asked in disbelief.

"Actually, I didn't get it on Earth, Sir, and that's a long story, but right now we need to get to that Ancient Ship upstairs, and get to the outpost in Antarctica so that we can stop Ba'al."

The room plunged into silence. Hammond stared at Jack in confusion, while the others looked back and forth between Hammond, Jack, and the ZPM.

"Sir, we're running out of time." Jack pleaded.

Finally, Hammond nodded. "Ok, go. I'll call the President and let him know what's going on. I expect you to explain everything when you get back."

"Thank you, Sir, and yes Sir, I will." AU Jack raced from the room, and, wordlessly, SG-1 followed.

* * *

Beep.

Jack shrunk away from the noise.

Beep.

It was quiet, somewhat in the distance, but it was disrupting his sleep, which he longed to go back to.

Beep.

He opened his eyes. Wherever he was, it was dark. Slowly, they adjusted to the room.

Beep.

It was the Infirmary. He'd know the uncomfortable bed, and the dull white curtains that surrounded his bed, anywhere.

The incessant beeping belonged to a heart monitor hooked up to somebody down the other end of the room.

Jack searched his mind to figure out how he'd gotten into the Infirmary. Now that he didn't go offworld often, the only time he found himself in the Infirmary was to visit injured personnel.

He remembered an alternate version of himself had come through the mirror asking for their help. They'd gone back through with him with a ZPM they'd found to help. It all came flooding back to him. Ba'al had caught them, and Jack had watched him kill all of them.

Wait, wasn't he supposed to be dead? He was certain that he'd killed Ba'al, and then been shot in the back himself.

He quickly sat up, and climbed out of the bed. One of the Infirmary's horrible gowns was draped over his body. He hated wearing them, as they weren't too flattering, with the back open for all to see, and only reaching just above his knees. Thankfully, a set of BDUs were on the table by the bed, and he quickly changed into them.

The curtain was pulled aside, and he quickly surveyed the darkened room. The bed beside him was empty, but the sheets pulled aside told him that the gurney was recently vacated. Across the room were two more curtained off beds.

In two quick strides, Jack yanked the curtain from one of the beds aside. Sitting with his legs hanging over the side of the bed, and wearing a hideous gown himself, was Daniel. Their eyes met, and they stared at each other in confusion.

Daniel opened his mouth to talk, but Jack was already stepping towards the last curtained bed.

Jack's heart hammered furiously in his chest as he reached out a shaky hand to pull the curtain aside.

A slim figure lay under the covers, and as Jack's eyes slowly traced up the length of the person's body, he saw the rise and fall of a chest, and then Carter's face peeking out from the sheet.

"General, good, you're awake."

Jack spun around to see Dr. Brightman walking towards them. "Where's Teal'c?" The safety of his team, well his old team, was the most important thing he was concerned with at that moment.

"I am here, O'Neill." Teal'c walked into the room.

"He woke an hour ago, and I ordered him to get something to eat."

Jack looked from Teal'c, to Daniel, and then to Sam who was beginning to stir in the bed. He was beginning to think that his whole adventure to the other reality was all in his head. Maybe some strange disease had been brought back through the 'gate, and he'd been hallucinating the whole time.

He walked over to Sam's bed as her eyes blinked open. There was a moment when confusion clouded her eyes until they landed on the general.

"Sir?"

"Hey Carter."

Suddenly, she sat up, her eyes opening wide. "I thought I was…" Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Daniel? Teal'c?"

"I am here, Colonel Carter."

"Yeah, me too."

Sam looked to each of them. "I saw you both die."

"So did I and I saw you die too." Jack looked at her sadly as the memory of her falling lifelessly to the ground, and the loss which had consumed him.

Jack looked to the doctor who had been listening to the conversation in silence. "What happened?"

"I was hoping you could tell me. Several hours ago you all appeared in the Storage Room at the foot of the mirror unconscious."

"Are we free to leave then?" Jack asked.

"Yes, just let me do a quick check up on the three of you to make sure you're all ok. I've already checked Teal'c, he's free to go," Dr. Brightman ordered.

No less than half an hour later, Jack was sitting in his office catching up on everything he'd missed. They'd only been gone 6 hours, plus the few more they spent unconscious in the Infirmary.

Apparently during that time, some sort of virus had infected Felger when he'd been offworld with SG-4, and it had caused all the women on base to throw themselves at him. Needless to say, Felger hasn't wanted to get rid of it, but it had been dealt with now, and the only repercussion was a handful of very embarrassed female personnel.

SG-7 had managed to come back through the Stargate under fire, and one of the scientists blew up one of the labs (surprisingly not Felger).

When Jack had walked back into his office, Colonel Reynolds had gladly left after making Jack promise that he'd never appoint him in charge ever again.

Jack was only a quarter of the way through the mission reports when there was a knock at the door.

"Come in." The door cracked open, and Daniel, Teal'c, and Sam ambled into the office, closing the door behind them.

Sam and Daniel each took a seat, while Teal'c stood behind them. Jack knew why they were here. They hadn't had a chance to talk, as he'd been the first to leave the Infirmary, and had gone straight to his office to see how things were going.

"So what's going on? I'm sure Teal'c was dead, and then I swore Ba'al killed me." Daniel looked to Jack. "I wasn't imagining the whole thing, was I?"

Jack shook his head. "I was there too, and I watched you all die."

"I don't feel very dead." Daniel commented. "Did Ba'al kill you too?"

"Something like that."

"So what do you think happened? Because we're obviously not dead."

"I don't know, Daniel. Right now, I'm just thankful we're all alive."

"Do you think the Colonel made it?" Sam asked.

Jack couldn't help the twinge of jealousy that ripped through his insides. It was an innocent question, but he heard the concern in her voice. He pushed his jealousy aside, and looked at her calmly, "We'll just have to wait and see. Until then, your next briefing isn't until Monday, so you've got 4 days of downtime."

"Yes, Sir." Sam and Daniel stood, and followed Teal'c out the door. When Sam, being the last to leave, reached the door, she paused, and turned back around to face him. "I'm sorry for what happened between me and the Colonel."

"Carter, it's none of my business what happens between you and any other man." Jack replied coldly.

She flinched slightly at his words, but quickly regained her composure. "Yes, Sir."

"And I expect you to actually leave the base for the next four days."

"I do have a life outside of the SGC, _Sir_." She snapped back, equally as cold as him.

"Never said you didn't, _Carter_."

"I'll see you Monday, Sir." She turned, and stalked out of his office, uncertain that she'd be able to hole her tongue if she stayed any longer.

* * *

The ride to Antarctica had been filled with questions which AU Jack refused to answer. He simply informed them that it was a long story, and would tell them once Ba'al was out of the way.

Upon reaching Antarctica, Jack quickly placed the ZPM in place as he'd done earlier (well, later), and took a seat in the chair. Several minutes later, the ships had been destroyed, and they had finally rid themselves of Ba'al forever. Or so Jack hoped.

AU Jack opened his eyes, and looked to his team standing before him. They were alive. All of them. Jack finally allowed himself to believe it, and his lips cracked into a smile.

"Are you going to explain all of this now, Sir?" Sam questioned.

Jack's eyes fixed themselves on her, and his smile turned into a full fledged grin. He stood up, and purposefully strode straight towards Sam, stopping only when he was merely centimetres in front of her.

Her blue eyes peered curiously up at him, and, without warning, he pulled her into his arms, and placed his lips firmly on hers.

After the shock of what was happening wore off, Sam began to return the kiss as if it were the most natural thing to do.

Finally, they pulled apart, but continued to stare at each other in contentment. Jonas and Teal'c stood in shock.

"So, uh, you're going to explain all of this now, right?" Jonas asked.

-TBC-

* * *

A/N: Well, I hope you liked that one! I still have at least 2 more chapters to go! Let me know what you think. 


	10. Chapter 10

StargateFan- Glad you liked the kiss;)

sophiedb- A return visit. Ok, I won't make you wait, yes, there is this chapter.

Getcarter- lol, umm… you'll see.

Janissima­ thank you, and you're welcome.

Feb04- he he! You're right!

SG-Fan- Thanks, and I'm glad you like it!

Star484­ Sorry for the confusion, this chapter should explain everything

Sam Carter O'Neill wagtail JEDI- Thank you. I hope you like the last two chapters

Plague2005- Wow, thank you very much! Only 2 more chapters to go, and I hope they live up to your expectations.

Enjoy!

* * *

"Realities Apart"

-Chapter 10-

"I don't know how to express my thanks, Jack. If you ever need anything, just let me know."

"You're welcome, Mr. President. I might actually take you up on that offer in the near future." AU Jack looked through the window of Hammond's office to the Briefing Room at Sam. As soon as she noticed him looking, she turned away, turning a deep shade of red.

"My door is always open to you," President Hayes replied.

"Thank you, Sir." Jack said his goodbyes, and then he and Hammond joined the rest of Sg-1 in the Briefing Room.

"I trust this will be a long debriefing." Hammond took his usual seat at the head of the table.

Before anyone could begin, a great flash suddenly engulfed the room with a great, white light. It quickly dissipated, and everyone looked around in confusion.

"Uh, hello?" A male voice called from the adjacent office.

AU Jack stood slowly. "Hello?" he called back.

"Yeah, I need some help."

Sam looked wide-eyed at Jack. "Is that…" She trailed off in fear that if she actually said the name it wouldn't be true.

Jack wouldn't have responded anyway, as he was already reaching the door to Hammond's office.

"No! Don't come in!"

"Oh…umm…" Jack looked away. "Sorry… I umm…" he looked around, and reached and grabbed the SGC flag off a pole, and handed it to the person in the room.

Seconds later, Daniel walked out of the office with the flag wrapped around his waist; the rest of his body was exposed.

Everyone in the room stared at him.

"You act like you've never seen a naked guy before," Daniel joked nervously.

Jack took a step forward, and poked Daniel in the shoulder. "He's real."

"At least you didn't throw a shoe at me this time."

A huge grin spread across Sam's face, and she jumped from her chair and threw her arms around him. "Daniel!"

"Hey Sam." Daniel wrapped one arm around her, keeping the other held tightly on the flag.

When Sam pulled back she had tears streaming down her cheeks, but a broad smile that couldn't be broken. "It's good to have you back… you are staying, right?"

Daniel nodded. "Yes, I'm here to stay. Unless, I die again, hopefully not."

Sam stepped away from him, allowing General Hammond, Teal'c, and Jonas to great him. She walked over to Jack, wiping her tears away in embarrassment.

Jack simply pulled her into a hug, smiling blissfully. Sam, once again, turned a deep shade of red.

Daniel, who had witnessed the exchange, smiled and looked straight at Jack when he spoke, "There's nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged, to find the ways in which you yourself have altered."

"Time tells the truth." Jack grinned back.

Daniel shook his head. "Time is what keeps things from happening all at once."

Jack sighed. "You're not going to keep that up forever, are you?"

* * *

It had been a couple of weeks since Jack, and Sg-1 had awoken in the Infirmary, and there was still no sign of the alternate Jack. General O'Neill had been swamped by work, and he'd rarely seen SG-1. In fact, he hadn't seen Sam except for briefings and debriefings. So, with all the work, all thoughts of the mirror were pushed to the back of his mind.

SG-13 had gone missing offworld, and had finally made it back home a couple of days later after managing to lock themselves inside some sort of building with no way out.

SG-13's debriefing was about to begin when the phone rang.

"O'Neill."

"General, this is Flanigan from security. An alarm has been triggered on level 16, and it looks like the mirror's been activated."

Jack jumped from his chair. "Thank you, Flanigan." He hung up the phone, and raced out of his office. To be honest, he'd begun to suspect that AU Jack hadn't made it out alive.

SG-13 watched in alarm as Jack raced past them.

"General?"

Jack halted, and spun around to face Colonel Dixon. "Sorry, we'll reschedule for 0900 tomorrow!" Jack turned, and bounded down the stairs, and almost knocked over Sergeant Davis on the way.

"Walter! Can you page SG-1 to the Briefing Room, ASAP?"

"Yes, Sir." But Jack was already to the elevator, hastily pushing the button.

When he reached Storage Room 6, AU Jack was there waiting for him. They nodded to each other in greeting.

"SG-1 should be waiting for us in the Briefing Room." Jack led AU Jack out of the Storage Room.

No words passed between them on their way, but Jack noticed a bit of a bounce to the other man's steps. Things must have gone well, but surely he would be upset after everything that he'd lost.

Sam, Daniel, and Teal'c were already settled in the Briefing Room when the Jacks walked in. relief washed over all of their features at seeing two Jacks.

General O'Neill motioned for everyone to take a seat as he took a seat himself.

Everyone looked eagerly at AU Jack. "I made it to Antarctica, and all of the Jaffa are gone." He told them without any further delay.

"Well, that's great… but um… I'm pretty sure we were dead, but as you can see, we're not… dead. We were wondering if you knew anything about that?" Jack frowned in confusion.

"Yeah, that was Daniel's doing." AU Jack explained.

"It was?" Daniel asked.

"Not you, our Daniel." AU Jack couldn't help but grin. "You see, he turned back time, to before the attack even began. We were able to stop Ba'al before any damage was done. Daniel sent you all back through the mirror before he turned back time. Apparently that was easier than turning back time in both realities."

"He did?" Daniel looked shocked. "I can't believe he would do that! Interfering is completely against everything, let alone turning back time! Do the ascended beings just run around doing whatever they want with no consequences!"

AU Jack shook his head. He still wore a giddy grin. "It took a lot of convincing. They still descended him, or whatever you call it, after he did it. But you can't tell me that you wouldn't have done the same thing if you were in his position."

Daniel shrugged. "I guess I would've."

"Anyway, I brought both of the ZPMs." AU Jack said, and he bent over to pick a large case off the ground next to him, and placed it on the table.

"Actually, I think the President would agree with me when I say that you should keep one of them. One is more than enough for us, and you should have something to protect you." General O'Neill said.

"Are you sure?"

Jack nodded. "We can live with just one for now."

"Thank you." AU Jack spoke sincerely. "All of you. I have no idea how to repay you."

"We're just glad that everything worked out in the end." Sam spoke up for the first time.

AU Jack's eyes glued themselves on her, and a grin spread across his face. "That it did."

Sam shifted uncomfortably under his gaze, while General O'Neill glared back and forth between them.

"So, uh… that's gotta be weird." Daniel interrupted. "I mean, your planet was basically destroyed, yet you're the only one who remembers."

"Well, it's not like things have happened that only I remember before," his eyes lingered on Sam for a moment. "But yeah, it actually put some things in perspective."

"And what would that be, O'Neill?" Teal'c asked.

"I decided to retire. Hammond offered me a promotion when I told him. Of course, I declined. A desk job isn't really me" AU Jack looked at the General with a smile.

"Retirement?" Jack asked carefully.

That's when Sam noticed the ring on AU Jack's finger.

"So I can pursue personal needs." AU Jack responded.

General O'Neill watched as AU Jack looked happily over at Sam. Jack followed his gaze, but Sam was completely oblivious to them. Her eyes were staring down at the retired Colonel's hand. The source of her shock, Jack found, was a wedding ring.

Jack looked back up to Sam, and their eyes met for what felt like the first time in weeks. It lasted only a split second, and he saw pain in her eyes, but the wall was quickly put in place before she averted her eyes to the table.

AU Jack coughed. "Well, I should get back to my reality." He stood, and turned to the briefcase just as Walter appeared with another. Walter quickly took one of the ZPMs out, and placed it into the empty case, and handed it to AU Jack before exiting the room.

"I swear that man's psychic," Both Jack's said at once.

"Anyway, I'll walk you to the mirror." Jack offered.

AU Jack nodded, and looked to the others. "Thank you, once again."

Daniel stepped forwards, and shook his hand, and Teal'c bowed his head.

AU Jack looked across the table at Sam as she rose from her seat. He quickly walked around the table, and stopped in front of her. "Again, I'm sorry for anything I messed up."

Sam shook her head. "_You_ didn't mess up anything."

AU Jack cast a quizzical glance over at the other Jack who stood there scowling. "Ok," He said, turning back to Sam. "Well, take care, ok?"

"I will, and umm… Congratulations." She blushed.

The alternate grinned. "Thanks." He leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "It was nice to meet you."

"You too," Sam barely choked out.

General O'Neill cleared his throat. "We should get going."

AU Jack nodded, gave Sam one final smile, and left the room with the General.

Sam looked to Daniel and Teal'c. "I'll be in my lab if anyone needs me." Before they could reply, she hurried out of the room.

Teal'c turned to Daniel. "As the Tau'ri would say, Daniel Jackson, you could cut the sexual tension with a sharp object."

Daniel laughed, "'With a knife', Teal'c"

* * *

The Jacks rode the elevator in silence. Jack was fuming over the fact that the other him had just kissed Sam in front of everybody.

AU Jack was all too aware of the General's current mood, and knew not to say a word. Still, he couldn't help but feel a little smug.

It wasn't until they were almost at the Storage Room door that AU Jack stepped in front of Jack.

"Listen, I didn't yell at you in Felger's lab, or talk to Sam so that you too would stop talking."

Jack opened his mouth to protest.

"I don't know what happened between the two of you," AU Jack continued. "But even I knew that something's up, and it's not the uncomfortable 'alternate versions of ourselves are married again'. Although, I'm sure that's part of it."

"Anyway, I was trying to help you guys out because you of all people know that she deserves to be loved. Before it's too late, and you're the one to do that. I feel like I'm becoming a broken record, for crying out loud. How many times do I have to say it before it gets into your thick head!"

"It's not that easy." Jack defended himself.

"It's not that hard."

"What about Pete?"

"Believe me, Pete's out of the picture."

"How do you know that?" General O'Neill asked.

"I just know… well, I have to get going."

"Wait… what exactly did you say to your Sam?"

"Nothing, I just walked up to her and kissed her." The same grin from earlier returned to AU Jack's face.

They began walking into the Storage Room.

"Oh?" Jack asked curiously.

"Yep, definitely brought on a time loop flashback."

Both Jacks chuckled as they reached the mirror which still lay open to AU Jack's reality. They turned to face each other uncertainly.

AU Jack extended his hand. Jack looked at it cautiously before finally taking it in a handshake.

"Take care." The both of them said in unison. They gave an identical grin, and AU Jack stepped to the mirror, and disappeared though it before the surface flashed, and the other reality disappeared.

* * *

A/N: ok, only one chapter to go :( I hope you liked this chapter! 


	11. Chapter 11

sophiedb- lol :)

getcarter- Thank you!

StargateFan- lol, I'm really glad you like it! Is this fast enough for you?

feb04- lol, you know, through the whole story you've practically known what was coming next ;) Thanks for reviewing!

Starr484- I'm glad it all made sense! Thanks!

Airam4u- Thank you very much! I hope you like the end!

Sam Carter O'Neill wagtail JEDI- I know what you mean! It's exciting to end a chapter, but really sad at the same time.

NadindeCarter- Hi! Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you're enjoying the story. Don't worry, I don't think begging will be necessary.

janissima- Thanks! I'm glad you liked it.

GlowingHaven- Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you found my story, and I hope you like the last chapter!

Questionablelight- Thanks! Sorry, this chapter isn't very long, but I think there's a lot in it, so hopefully you still like it!

Samantha- Excellent name! lol, well, I'm glad that you did leave a review. Sequel? What's all this talk about a sequel? Lol

A/N: well, here's the final chapter everyone! I hope you all like it!

* * *

"Realities Apart"

-Chapter 11-

Knock, knock, knock.

Sam was startled by the knock at the door, and she glanced curiously at the clock. Who would be coming by at 9:30 pm?

There was another knock. Sam quickly hit the save button on her laptop, and left it on the kitchen table as she hurried to answer the door.

She threw open the front door, just as a hand was poised to knock for a third time.

"Sir?" Sam asked, surprised to see her CO standing on her door step.

"Carter."

"What are you doing here, Sir?" She leaned against the door frame, taking in his appearance. He wore denim jeans, a loose, light blue shirt, and a black, leather jacket. She suddenly felt very self conscious in her comfy sweats and grey air force T-shirt.

"I wanted to talk to you." Jack explained.

"Come in," Sam offered cautiously, and she opened the door for him to enter.

"Thanks." Jack walked into the house, and Sam closed the door behind him.

"Can I get you anything to drink?"

"No thanks."

Sam nodded, and led him into the lounge room where she took a seat in the armchair, while Jack sat down on the lounge chair which sat at a 90 degree angle with Sam's.

"I had a talk with George, General Hammond I mean, anyway, I've resigned."

"You what?" Sam looked at him in shock.

"Well, I'm staying on as commander of the SGC as a civilian. I've always promised myself that I would see to the end of the Goa'uld, or die trying. Now, it seems that it might actually happen, and very soon. So I'm staying until then."

"But why resign from the Air Force?" Sam asked in confusion.

"So I'm free to 'pursue personal needs'," He said, using fingers as air quotes, and a crooked smile in place.

Sam bit her bottom lip, contemplating what to say. "You can't just expect… I mean, you can't just come here and expect me to…"

"I don't expect anything from you. I just want you to know, that the door's open if you ever want to pursue anything." Jack said.

"What about Pete?"

Jack leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and letting his hands fall down between his legs. "What about him? You broke it off, didn't you?"

"How did you know?"

"Just a hunch," Jack shrugged. "Plus, you're not wearing the ring."

"Maybe I just haven't put it back on since I got home from work." Sam sighed deeply and rested her head in her hands.

"I came here, offering a chance… well… a chance for us. I guess I hoped that you felt the same way that I felt." Jack confessed.

Sam looked over at him; his face full of so much hope, yet she didn't know what to say, even though her heart screamed for her to leap into his arms. Could she really just let herself go to him? After everything they'd been through? "Why now?" She managed to whisper.

"'Why now?'" He repeated. "So many times I've thought I'd lost you, and it hurt more and more every time. And this whole alternate reality thing, seeing you die like that. I completely snapped Sam." He said, using her first name for the first time. "I haven't felt like that since I lost Charlie. It really scared me, and I don't want to feel like that ever again."

"Why didn't you say anything when I told you about my engagement to Pete?" Tears were rolling down her cheeks, but she was unaware of them.

"I thought you were happy with him, that he's the one you wanted."

"The one I wanted? I only went out with him in the first place because I thought you weren't interested anymore."

"I never did anything to make you think I didn't still care about you." Jack said, getting slightly annoyed.

"Well you never did anything to make me think you did still care." Sam retorted.

"You're the one who went out and got a boyfriend!"

Sam stood up, her eyes flashing with anger. "I think you should leave now." She walked out of the room towards the front door.

Jack was quickly on his feet after her. He caught her forearm just before she reached the front door. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that."

Sam swung around, yanking her arm out of his grasp, and leveling him with a glare. "Seven years, _Jack_, that's how long I'd been waiting. I was _so _alone, and anytime someone was interested in me, or I became even slightly interested, they would die. Martouf, Joe, Narim. Do you have any idea how that felt! And then Pete came along, and he loved me, and it felt really good. You were my commanding officer, there was no chance we could have anything more than friendship."

"I know… I'm sorry." Jack was at a loss for words.

"And you!" Sam continued, flaring with anger again, pointing a finger at him. "You were always getting with other women: Laira, Cynthia, and who knows how many others. And you blame me for finding Pete?"

Jack looked helplessly at her. If only he had Daniel's gift for speech. He had to approach this another way.

He placed a hand on either side of her face. Her eyebrows crinkled in confusion for a split second before Jack planted his lips on hers.

Sam instantly threw her arms around him in response, pulling their bodies closer together. They clung greedily to each other until Sam pulled back.

"Definitely time loop worthy." Jack said breathlessly.

"What?"

"Never mind."

Sam shook her head, "You can't expect a kiss to make everything ok again."

"Yeah, I thought that would be a little too easy."

"But," Sam's mouth slowly cracked into a smile. "Another kiss might work, though."

Jack grinned. "That can be arranged." And he leaned forward for another kiss, but Sam stopped him with a finger on his lips.

"Let's forget everything. Ok? Start over?"

"Agreed. So, can I kiss you now?" He asked eagerly.

Sam chuckled. "God, I love you." It took her a second to realize what she'd said, and when she did, her eyes opened wide in shock.

Jack, however, just smiled and placed a hand on her cheek. "I love you too, Sam."

Blushing, Sam wrapped her arms around Jack's waist, and looked up at him. "Kiss me already, would you Jack?"

-The End-

* * *

A/N: there you go, a happy ending. That's acutally the first story that I've written where they actually get together! lol. I just want to say thank you to everyone who's read and reviewed, especially those who've reviewed all the way. I really do appreciate it!

For those who are interested, I have my first Atlantis fic that I'm about to post, and I have another adventure story for SG-1 called "Aculeus" Which is S/J shippiness, and S/D friendship, and that will be another long one, so I'll get that one up and going soon. Thanks again everyone!


End file.
